Criminal Justice & Policing
Twin Cities police use physical force at rates well above national average
Minneapolis Police Department officers reported using physical force against suspects more than 1,000 times in 2022, one of the highest per-capita rates of police force in the nation, according to data released this week. MPD officers reported using force at the same rate in 2022 as they did in 2020, the year George Floyd was […]
Trump promises mass deportations of undocumented people. How would that work?
WASHINGTON — “Mass deportation now!” is a catchphrase for the Trump presidential campaign, as the Republican nominee proposes a crackdown on immigration that would oust thousands of undocumented people. Often citing a deportation operation enacted by former President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s, former President Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed in campaign rallies that he […]
Special Counsel Smith files new indictment in Trump’s Jan. 6 case
WASHINGTON — Adjusting for the U.S. Supreme Court’s sweeping presidential immunity decision last month, U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday filed a fresh federal indictment alleging former President Donald Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 election in his favor. In a superseding indictment filed in the late afternoon, Smith emphasized the private nature of […]
DOJ looks to revive classified documents case against Trump, argues judge’s dismissal was ‘flawed’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith has asked a federal appeals court to reverse the dismissal of a case alleging former President Donald Trump mishandled classified documents at his Florida home after he left the Oval Office. The appeals process could take months, likely closing the door on any movement in the classified documents […]
More than half of violent crimes go unsolved in Minnesota
More violent crimes are going unsolved in Minnesota today than a decade ago, according to FBI data analyzed by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a nonprofit working on criminal justice issues. “In 2022, the year for which we have the most recent data, Minnesota saw 57% of violent crimes go unsolved, 5 percentage […]
Democrats stress gun violence prevention on convention’s final night
CHICAGO — The final night of the Democratic National Convention Thursday included a lineup of lawmakers and others who have long advocated for gun safety and have dealt with the aftermath of gun violence in their communities. “Our losses do not weaken us — they strengthen our resolve,” Georgia U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a longtime […]
Walz 2006 campaign misled on DUI charge
Gov. Tim Walz, the presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee, has been telling a markedly different story about his 1995 drunk driving arrest since 2018 than the claims made by his first campaign for Congress in 2006. In 2018, he told me he had been drinking and watching football with friends when he was pulled over […]
Trump asks New York judge to delay felony sentencing past Election Day
Former President Donald Trump asked a New York court Thursday to delay until after November’s presidential election his sentencing for the 34 state felonies the court convicted him of in May. Judge Juan Merchan scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 18. But that date overlaps with early voting in the presidential election and gives Trump […]
After George Floyd’s killing, policing defined Tim Walz’s tenure
For several years, public safety had Gov. Tim Walz stuck in a political vice grip, and events had a way of acting as a tightening turn. Like many Democrats before Floyd’s murder sparked a national racial reckoning, Walz was if anything pro-police. But after Floyd’s killing rocked the world, Walz was vocal about wanting to see the four police officers that were involved charged and convicted; nine police groups told him to back off and let the justice system do its work.
Here’s what Tim Walz has done as governor of Minnesota
Democrats have swiftly fallen for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s Midwest dad persona, sharing videos of him working on a car, going on a rollercoaster with daughter Hope at the State Fair, signing a bill renaming a street in Prince’s honor in purple ink. But he’s also got a long record as governor. Walz’s first term […]
Activists feel hoodwinked as police groups dictate model policy for school cops
Activists opposed to allowing school police to hold students facedown on the ground say their concerns are being ignored by regulators drafting a model policy that will govern how police can restrain students in Minnesota schools.
Minneapolis Police Department hasn’t published all disciplinary records as required
The Minneapolis Police Department released a batch of nine disciplinary decisions as part of a November public records request, including a suspension of an officer for taking a vehicle home without authorization and driving it thousands of miles.