The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association wrote a letter to the Hennepin and Ramsey County attorneys addressing their failure to prosecute some felony crimes. The association wrote that it is “especially concerned” that “prosecutorial policies are failing to hold criminals accountable for their actions.”
EXCLUSIVE:
The MN Chiefs of Police Assn sent a letter to Hennepin & Ramsey county attorneys Mike Freeman & John Choi calling out their dangerous policies & unwillingness to charge some felony crimes. The assn intends to support legislation calling for decision data transparency. pic.twitter.com/72rWC8Tfpi— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) December 30, 2021
Crime Watch Minneapolis shared the letter on Twitter, saying that it was addressed to “county attorneys Mike Freeman [and] John Choi calling out their dangerous policies [and] unwillingness to charge some felony crimes.”
The letter was in response to Ramsey County Attorney John Choi and his decision earlier this year to “not prosecute felony cases that arise through low-level traffic stops. He said this will help correct racial disparities within policing, traffic stops, and incarceration.”
The letter, signed by Jeff Potts, the executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, and Eric T. Werner, the president of the organization as well as the police chief in Maple Grove, said that it will be supporting the Transparency in Charging Act.
The police association said it is “actively seeking legislative authors who will craft a bill” that would “provide data to the legislature about felony level offenses that go uncharged.”
It wrote, “In some cases, where the County Attorney is unwilling to pursue felony cases, law enforcement has been forced to turn to city prosecutors to charge offenders with lesser crimes in pursuit of some form of justice.”
The letter says that the association “can’t sit idly by as serious offenders who should have been in jail are able to commit additional crimes.” The association said that while the two attorneys only represent two out of the 87 counties in Minnesota, their “decisions can impact the prosecutorial strategies of [others] and does affect public safety in communities across our state.”
The Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association did not respond to The Minnesota Sun’s request for comment regarding the situation.
– – –
Hayley Feland is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun and The Wisconsin Daily Star | Star News Network. Follow Hayley on Twitter or like her Facebook page. Send news tips to [email protected].
Photo “John Choi” by John Choi. Photo “Mike Freeman” by Tony Webster CC BY-SA 2.0.
.jpg){kind=link}