A Minneapolis police precinct is facing grave repercussions after at least one officer took it upon himself to ruin the department’s holiday tree (and reputation in the community it serves) with items that perpetuate stereotypes of African-Americans and Latinos.
The “decorations” included crushed cans of malt liquor and cheap beer, cups from a fried-chicken restaurant, police tape, and packages of Newport cigarettes and Takis snacks. A photo of the disgusting tree was posted to Twitter Friday morning and quickly went viral.
Two unnamed officers were place on leave Friday, and 4th Precinct commander Aaron Biard was replaced Monday as part of the fallout from the appalling display.
Mayor Jacob Frey called the decorations “despicable” and said they amounted to a “racist display.” A picture of the tree circulated online before the items were removed.
Frey initially called for the officer involved to be fired by day’s end, but later recognized that a process has to be followed. Instead, the two officers were placed on paid leave while the department investigates.
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(Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria) Arradondo has called the display “racially insensitive” and said it was removed.
“I am ashamed and appalled by the behavior of those who would feel comfortable to act in such a manner that goes against our core department values of trust, accountability and professional service,” Arradondo said in an earlier statement.
As Chief Arradondo said, one might wonder how the unnamed officers, their commander, and the rest of the precinct’s staff felt comfortable doing such a thing. However, the answer is a fairly obvious one, rooted in bigotry, racism, and white supremacy—poisonous mentalities that continue to pollute our nation’s police departments. These biases don’t just manifest in the oh-so-unnecessary deaths of unarmed people of color at the hands of police, though the Minneapolis-St. Paul police, and Minneapolis’ 4th Precinct in particular, do have a too-fresh history with such things, namely the 2015 shooting of Jamar Clark, which sparked weeks of protests and an 18-day encampment outside the 4th District.
Five protesters were shot at the encampment by a 25-year-old white man with a history of racism before it was dismantled by the city.
The officers involved in Clark’s shooting, predictably, weren’t found to have erred in their use of deadly force, and weren’t disciplined. Just eight months later, in a suburb of next-door St. Paul (the other of the two Twin Cities), Philando Castile was shot to death in front of his girlfriend and her young daughter, and the cop who killed him wasn’t charged, instead receiving nearly $50,000 to leave the force.
Predictably, real change in Minneapolis’ leadership wasn’t inspired by the senseless death of Clark, or the equally pointless death of Castile, but by the foul and erroneous death of a white woman: Australian Justine Damond, who was shot dead after calling 911 to report a possible rape outside her home. The officer who killed her actually shot across his partner as he fired on Damond. The ensuing outrage against that officer, a Somali immigrant who actually did face charges, left the Somali community fearful of retribution. It’s worth noting that when white killer cops kill citizens of color, all white people don’t have to fear for their lives.
White victims, however, do tend to change the demographics of protesters.
The death of Damond finally caused sufficient outrage to lead then-Chief of Police Janee Harteau to resign in July 2017. Arradondo, the current chief, replaced her, becoming the first African-American to hold the position. Mayor Betsy Hodges, who signed her own ticket out of office when she ordered the Clark encampment dismantled, was voted out in 2017, and replaced by Jacob Frey, in an election that focused heavily on police-community relations (or lack thereof).
All of this shows what the climate’s like at the hyper-local Twin Cities level: much like it is in the nation overall. This nation is a racially charged shitshow, where U.S. senators can make lynching jokes and the president can proudly declare himself a “nationalist.” So, while Chief Arradondo’s musings and shock about MPD officers and leadership feeling comfortable “decorating” a holiday tree with items that reinforce bigoted stereotypes seem like a normal response, they aren’t. These “decorations” are a product of the national climate. Honestly, it’s more surprising that there weren’t any nooses and watermelons and sombreros on that tree.
Then again, the holiday season has just begun. There’s plenty of time for something worse.