County Attorney Freeman pushes legislation on police reform

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman sent a letter to all members of the Hennepin County Legislative delegation urging them to support bills that would make eight significant changes in policing in Minnesota.

Freeman sent the letter Friday as the Minnesota Legislature moves into the final three weeks of its session. Many of the proposals are contained in bills that have passed at least one house of the legislature. Among the proposals are fully funding the criminal division of the Attorney General’s office, limiting the use of no-knock warrants, prohibiting traffic stops for non-safety-related infractions and modernizing training.

The letter also was sent to legislative leadership, members of the criminal justice conference committees and the Hennepin County Commissioners.

The Minnesota Business Partnership and the Minneapolis Downtown Council has also been studying ways to reform policing and have come to some of the same conclusions, which Freeman supports.

Read the full letter (PDF).