Unity Community Mediation Team

IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                CONTACT:  Rev. Ian Bethel

November 27, 2020                                                                   (612)801-6211

Unity Community Mediation Team, UCMT, Announces:

Next Step in Mediation to Reform and Transform the Minneapolis Police Department

The Unity Community Mediation Team, UCMT is in mediation with the Minneapolis Police Department to update and amend its existing Memorandum of Agreement with the Department on issues related to use of force, officer accountability, behavioral health response, diversifying the workforce, out of home placement and a host of other issues.

The next mediation session will be held on a virtual platform, because of the Covid-19 public health emergency, on Monday, November 30, 2020.

 

The UCMT, came together in the midst of the enormous worldwide reaction to the death of Mr. George Floyd last summer when Zachary Metoyer called the Community Relations Service of the US Department of Justice, DOJ, the day after Mr. Floyd’s death, to ask for their help.   He called DOJ after seeing the video, that was made by passersby, of Minneapolis police officers choking the life out of Mr. George Floyd at East 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South in a residential neighborhood in Minneapolis.

Mr. Metoyer called the DOJ to request their assistance for community members who were coming together to challenge the City of Minneapolis and its police department to break with the systemic racism in the justice system that had helped make Minneapolis such a difficult city to live in for Black, Indigenous and Latino communities.   The disparities in the justice system reflect Minneapolis’ long-time status as a city with some of the worst racial disparities in the nation in health, education, income, employment, housing, really in all areas of life.   The UCMT came together to reconvene the Police Community Relations Council and to take on these deep problems in the culture of the police department and the city of Minneapolis.

The members of UCMT have many years’ experience working together, having formed the Police Community Relations Council with the Minneapolis Police Department under Chief Robert Olson nearly 20 years earlier.   They include the diversity that is Minneapolis: African American, Native American, Latino, Somali, LGBTQ and behavioral health advocates.  Their goal is to push for reform and transformation of the police department but also strengthening public safety in all Minneapolis communities.

Zachary Metoyer is one of three co-chairs of the UCMT.   The others are Frank Paro and Rev. Ian Bethel.   The UCMT meets at Rev. Bethel’s church in a south Minneapolis neighborhood not far from where Mr. Floyd breathed his last breath.

The UCMT has put on the table the 31-page Memorandum of Agreement that they signed with the Minneapolis Police Department in the early 2000s with the goal of amending and updating this existing comprehensive agreement between diverse communities and the MPD that was negotiated with the help of DOJ and that was accepted by the Mayor and the City of Minneapolis.   The MOA provides a foundation for the reforms and the transformation we seek.  It provides a roadmap.   It is a place to start as we all work together to reform and transform our police department and our community.

The MOA contains the following sections with significant reforms negotiated in each: 1.Use of Force, 2. Police-Community Relations, 3. Mental Health, 4. Diversifying the Workforce, 5. Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity, 6. Racially Biased Policing, 7. Accountability of Police Officers – the Complaint and Discipline Process, 8. Removal of Children from the Home / Out of Home Placement, 9. Training, 10. Equipment, 11. Budget, 12, Effective Date, 13. Expiration, 14. Performance, Monitoring and Compliance of the Agreement.

Crucially, Section 13 states,” upon mutual agreement of the parties this agreement may be renewed for successive terms of three years each.”   So, when Unity Community Mediation Team members reached out to Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and got his agreement to reconvene the mediation process that led to the original MOA, the PCRC process was brought back to life.   Chief Arradondo was part of the original negotiations as a Sergeant on his way up in the department and he knows all the members of the Unity Community Mediation Team well.

We the Unity Community Mediation Team are proud to be at the table with MPD to lift up the voices of our communities on issues of enormous importance.   We believe our communities have the wisdom and knowledge to guide us through this crisis moment to a Minneapolis that is truly transformed.

 

UCMT Milestones

  • Reached out to the US DOJ the day after the death of George Floyd and gained their assistance in re-starting the mediation process
  • Publicly opposed moves by the Minneapolis City Council to defund and disband the Minneapolis Police Department in the middle of a public safety emergency that was burdening Minneapolis Black and Native communities and young people, in particular those who live on the North Side and South Side of Minneapolis
  • Opened a dialogue with the Minneapolis Charter Commission to oppose proposals by members of the City Council to change the Minneapolis Charter to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department
  • Formed a Behavioral Health Taskforce to bring together community health leaders and community health advocates to update the mental health section of the MOA
  • Formed a diverse and active Young People’s Taskforce and brought them to the table for direct talks with leaders of the MPD on issues of concern to Black, Indigenous, and other young people in Minneapolis
  • Filed a complaint with the Minnesota Human Rights Department alleging violations of human rights by MPD
  • Incorporated as a nonprofit corporation with the State of Minnesota
  • Intervened with state leaders in an effort to open a direct dialogue between Minneapolis community members and the Governor on public safety reform.

 

UCMT Members

Rev Ian Bethel

Zachary Metoyer

Frank Paro

Rebecca Waggoner

Lisa Clemons

Al Flowers

Spike Moss

Minister Dr. Ora Hokes

Mark Anderson

Lisa Bellanger

Anita Urvina Davis

Gloria Freeman

Mary LaGarde

Lorraine Gurley

Farhio Khalif

Rev Mary Flowers Spratt

Booker Hodges

Anika Bowie

Steve Belton

Robert Lilligren

Miles Wilson

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