MN State Reps calls for joint hearing on abuse by Gang Task Force

** I am glad they are having this hearing..and I'm sure many civil rights were abused and non-whites probably got the worst of it.

but why don't they also investigate abuses and excessive force by Mpls and St.Paul Police before and during the RNC ???? The DFL has never spoken out about the abuse.. and many of the protesters are also active in campaigns and vote.

They should drop all the charges related to the RNC.

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Quartet of committees address alleged Metro Gang Strike Force misconduct Published (8/26/2009)


A dozen law enforcement officers may have engaged in fraudulent activity, and a group of legislators want to know how.

"We want to make sure this never happens again," said Rep. Debra Hilstrom (DFL-Brooklyn Center), at a joint hearing of four House and Senate public safety policy and finance committees or divisions. Hilstrom chairs the House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee. (Watch the hearing.)

An Aug. 20 review panel report and a May 20 report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor have shown that 10 or 12 officers of the Metro Gang Strike Force may have committed criminal activity by illegally taking home seized items for personal use, and that many of the seizures were unnecessary and racially motivated. Force members were shredding documents at its office hours after release of the legislative auditor's report. The task force was shut down in July.

Public Safety Commissioner Michael Campion created a two-person panel May 26 to recommend policy changes so the strike force could resume in July and investigate conduct that led to the auditor's findings. Andy Luger, a former assistant U.S. attorney, and John Egelhof, a 28-year FBI veteran and current private investigator, comprised the panel.

Among other things, their report indicates that some of the property was illegally taken from people with no gang connections, but who were searched and interrogated anyway, and officers or their family members were permitted to purchase items from the evidence room at low prices. The FBI continues to investigate, and criminal charges could be filed.

"A great deal went wrong at the Metro Gang Strike Force. … There was serious misconduct," said Luger, who used the terms "appalling" and "outrageous" to describe what was found. "The misconduct was something we never thought we'd see in Minnesota."

Created in 2005 during a reorganization of the state's approach to gang and drug-related crimes, "the strike force operates through joint powers agreements with the participating law enforcement agencies. … As of March 2009, the Metro Gang Strike Force had 34 law enforcement officers from 13 local law enforcement agencies," according to the legislative auditor's report.

Suggestions were offered to legislators so this alleged impropriety does not happen again, including: revising state seizure and forfeiture laws; discontinuing the use of standalone strike forces not administered and directed by a specific law enforcement agency; having a prosecutor run any similar strike force; requiring rigorous audits by people with experience in the handling of evidence and seized property; and ensuring strike force staff have adequate technology to perform their work.

"I think all the recommendations should be implemented," Campion said, adding there remains a need for a multi-jurisdictional gang and drug-related crime investigative group in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.

"If we do this again, we need to be very clear what a mission needs to be," said Rep. Michael Paymar (DFL-St. Paul), chair of the House Public Safety Finance Division. He said some issues will be addressed when the Legislature reconvenes Feb. 4, 2010.