By Eric Schiltz
Now that spring has arrived, the Committee for Professional Policing (CfPP) is looking for community-minded people to help us in our project to increase accountability for Minneapolis police. Our plan would require all officers to carry professional liability insurance. The base premium could be paid for by the city but any additional premiums resulting from an officer”'s actions would be that officer”'s responsibility. Just as bad drivers see their insurance rates increase and sometimes they become uninsurable, this plan would hold problem officers directly accountable for their misconduct. By law, an officer unable to purchase insurance would not be able to work for the city of Minneapolis. Not only would the community benefit from this kind of accountability, but the police department would be a better place to work for those officers who sincerely want to serve and protect the community.
CfPP must collect 10,000 signatures of registered Minneapolis voters to get this measure on the ballot. We feel certain that far more than 10,000 voters support this new accountability mechanism but we need lots of help gathering these signatures on our petition. This is true grassroots democracy because we are achieving this goal through the actions of the community, without the help of the politicians downtown. If you want to help make Minneapolis safer for everyone, you can volunteer and learn more about the project online at cfppmpls.wordpress.com. Please also see our ad in this issue of the Alley for paid canvassers.
Eric Schiltz is Project Manager of Committee for Professional Policing (CfPP)
HELP WANTED ”“
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Canvassers needed to collect signatures to put police accountability measure on the ballot. Flexible hours, some evenings and weekends. Get paid to help stop police brutality. Contact 612-715-8784 or
cfppmpls@yahoo.com.
