Several recent posts have focused on whether the departure of Chief Olson makes financial sense vis a vis damage judgments against the city. Let me submit that these posts miss the point.
It is not the financial issue that is most important, it is the potential for improving lives in the city. Let us assume that we know what we have now. We know that recent incidents, if not technical violations of MPD policies and procedures, don't represent what we want out of our police department. Why will things ever improve with Chief Olson? We have no reason to believe they will. If a good choice is made for a new chief, that is one who will instill a community and customer service mentality into the department, and one that will develop clear guidelines for the use of force (For example, not using deadly force when the "perp" is not capable of using deadly force.), we will believe that the money paid for a buyout is the best money we ever spent. The focus should be on developing good policies and procedures which focus on citizens as customers, rather than citizens as scumbags. That will go a long way toward re-creating the police force into something that we will all be proud of. When *some* people turn out to be scumbags, be prepared and deal with it. Then be nice again. Walt Cygan Keewaydin _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
