Women's March Minnesota

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Have You (and your friends and family) Contacted Your GOP Senators Lately?

Shannon Andreson

SF970 Public Safety Omnibus bill (Omnibus judiciary and public safety policy and finance bill) is still being heard in the conference committee. Big discrepancies remain on the issue of police accountability measures. The DFL-controlled House wants them included, and the GOP-controlled Senate doesn’t. We need to change that. Senate version summary, House version summary

The House version includes essential reforms like:

  • ending the use of no-knock warrants*

  • prohibiting traffic stops for certain minor violations

  • strengthening civilian oversight of police departments*

  • creating a more robust Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to regulate and train peace officers 

  • investing in both community response teams for mental health crisis calls and community healing for those impacted by deadly encounters with police

  • requiring access to body-worn camera footage in police critical incidents within 48 hours* 

  • funding a study into requiring police to carry professional liability insurance* 

  • ending police-only responses to mental health crisis calls*

  • banning police from affiliating with white supremacist groups

The Senate version does not include these measures. 

Many of these measures have been advocated for by the communities most impacted by police violence. The POCI Caucus (legislators of color and Indigenous legislators) have asked for the budget negotiations to be stopped unless police accountability measures are included. 

Gov. Walz is saying police accountability measures must be passed this session, though more recently he seems to be talking more specifically about the measures that would have Mental Health teams take mental health crisis 911 calls, measures to do with traffic stops, and also about community oversight.  

After the police killing of Daunte Wright, Sen. Majority Leader (GOP) Gazelka initially said the Senate would hear fact-finding hearings on some police accountability bills. However, since Chauvin’s guilty verdict he backed off that, saying the pressure has gone out of the situation and pointing out that the MN Legislature already passed police reform bills last summer (though it was always seen as the first step in much-needed police reform). 

GOP Sen. Limmer is saying that this is a budget year and that is his focus, not police accountability measures, which he says are policy.

Are any of these Public Safety Conference committee members, your senator?

If not, find someone who is. Contact friends or family who live in the following districts and ask them to contact their senator: 

  • 17A - Prinsburg, Montevideo - Rep. Tim Miller

  • 08 - Fergus Falls, Ottertail Lake area - Sen. Ingebretson 

  • 01 - Thief River Falls - Sen Johnson

  • 34 - Rogers, Maple Grove - Sen. Limmer

  • 15 - Milaca, area below Mille Lacs Lake - Sen. Mathews

Then contact any friends/family members who live in districts with GOP senators  - and urge them to contact their state senator to let them how they feel about police accountability measures and their inaction on it this session. MN GOP Senators need to hear from constituents concerned about public safety and the police accountability measures needed to make all MN communities safe from police violence.

Possible talking points to use when contacting friends/family in these districts:

Hi,

There is less than a week to go before the end of the session and there is a big problem with the Public Safety budget bill.  The GOP-controlled Senate is still refusing to include any police accountability or police reform measures. I am contacting you because you are the constituent of a GOP senator (or if appropriate…..a GOP member of the Public Safety Committee), and as such, you have the ear of someone who can take action to get these important measures included. George Floyd should be alive today. Daunte Wright should be alive today. There are measures that can be taken now to make policing safer for everyone and will hold the police accountable for their actions when they do something wrong. 

Please will you take the time to contact your Senator/Rep and ask them to do all they can to get police accountability measures included in this year’s Public Safety omnibus bill. I am forwarding you a script that you can use when emailing your legislator. Sometimes, I find that helps me start the conversation.

Thank you for your action.

Sample Script to use when contacting GOP Senator/Public Safety conference committee members:  

Dear {insert Senator’s name}

I am contacting you regarding the Public Safety omnibus bill.  I am a constituent of yours.

I am one of many Minnesotans who feel strongly that our state leaders need to act now on police accountability bills. Daunte Wright should not have died in the recent traffic stop. George Floyd should not have died last year over a $20 bill. We need policing that is safe for everyone, and in order for that to happen, we need common sense police reform and we need the police to be held accountable for the actions they take in the course of their job. 

In Minnesota alone, there have been over 400 deaths as a result of police violence since 2000. What’s more, police violence is an issue that disproportionately impacts Black people, Indigenous people, people of color, and low-income people. (It was also recently revealed that the MPD carries out traffic stops on Black drivers 29 times more often than on white drivers). 

Here are some of these police reform and accountability provisions that I am asking you to make sure are in the final Public Safety omnibus bill: 

  • ending the use of no-knock warrants

  • prohibiting traffic stops for certain minor violations

  • strengthening civilian oversight of police departments

  • create a more robust Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to regulate and train peace officers 

  • invest in both community response teams for mental health crisis calls and community healing for those impacted by deadly encounters with police

  • require access to body-worn camera footage in police critical incidents within 48 hours

  • funds a study into requiring police to carry professional liability insurance

  • end police-only responses to mental health crisis calls

  • banning police from affiliating with white supremacist groups

These are all measures that address current policing issues, improve policing outcomes, and will help make public safety safer for everyone, no matter the color of their skin or where they live. 

fI we don’t act now to make policing safer for everyone, when will we do it? How many more people have to be killed before we take real action? How many more mothers, families, children have to be traumatized by the death of a loved one? How many more times do people have to take to the streets demanding these changes? Let’s do it now. America is watching. The world is watching.

Please do everything you can to get these measures passed into law this session. 

Thank you.