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MPD union leader disciplined for failing to report misconduct • Minnesota Reformer [1]
['Deena Winter', 'More From Author', '- March']
Date: 2024-03-05
A Minneapolis police union leader was recently disciplined for not reporting two officers that he supervised for violating department policy by berating a drunk man, according to city documents.
Sgt. Richard Walker was disciplined in December for violating MPD’s code of conduct by failing to report the officers’ misconduct to Internal Affairs, and refusing to take responsibility during an Office of Police Conduct Review investigation.
The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis — whose board Walker sits on — appealed the discipline, and the city and Police Chief Brian O’Hara recently signed off on their agreement with the city, lessening Walker’s discipline.
Here’s what happened: Two officers used force on a man while responding to a suspicious person call, requiring a supervisor —Walker — to review their actions. Walker, who was recently promoted to sergeant, went to the scene and reviewed the officers’ body-worn camera footage of the incident.
The video showed the officers calling the man and another person numerous derogatory and profane names and making comments that were “disparaging, unnecessary, and escalating,” according to city documents. Both of those officers were disciplined.
When the man screamed “Ow!” and “I can’t breathe” as he was being arrested, one of the officers said, “Good.” Once at the squad car, the man said, “Please, please mercy. I’m sorry,” to which the officer replied, “Oh, now you want mercy? Go f*** yourself you drunk f***.”
Walker didn’t report any of their policy violations to Internal Affairs or his supervisors, as required. When asked about it during the OPCR investigation, Walker acknowledged both officers used profanity and “berating (and) excessive language” — which he said he didn’t find acceptable — but didn’t feel a need to report it.
“I do understand that sometimes in the heat of the moment, especially when force is being used on us, you’re going to say stuff,” Walker told investigators. “Is it appropriate? No. Policy violation? Yes. But did I think at that point that I needed to start an investigation on a cop who just got hit in the face? No.”
(The city documents do not name the other two officers or the man they berated. It’s unclear if the person was charged with assaulting an officer, as Walker alleges.)
Walker also talked to witnesses, one of whom told him one of the officers was being “way too rough” and unprofessional.
After appealing Walker’s discipline, the union agreed to a settlement with the city in which it agreed to withdraw some of its grievances if the city accepted a 40-hour suspension for Walker.
The reduction in discipline makes Walker eligible to seek promotion to lieutenant, according to MPD policy. Officers with a higher level violation can’t seek promotion for five years, although applicants can also be disqualified for their discipline history.
The police chief — who has the sole authority to resolve the grievance — signed off on the settlement, saying Walker failed to understand and “take accountability.”
“Officers carry a badge and gun and are called upon to make some of the hardest decisions possible,” he wrote to Walker. “It takes countless actions to build a reservoir of trust, and only one action to completely drain. We cannot afford to lose legitimacy with the people we serve, a loss of legitimacy with community is a critical safety concern not just for residents but also for our officers.”
Asked for comment, MPD issued a statement saying O’Hara “agreed with the parties involved in the grievance process that a 40-hour suspension was appropriate discipline for the sustained allegation.”
Walker has been the subject of numerous misconduct complaints. As of 2018, the city had paid more than $311,000 to settle cases involving Walker since he joined the force in 2005, according to KSTP, including a $235,000 settlement after he wrestled a man to the ground during a 2009 traffic stop.
He’s also one of several current and retired MPD cops who appeared in a right-wing, crowdfunded documentary that attempts to exonerate Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of killing George Floyd.
In the film, produced by the wife of a former Minneapolis police union president, Walker said that law enforcement has been demonized but he stayed on the force out of pride and because “I could not let evil win.”
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