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Department of Public Safety, State Patrol Settle Lawsuit Based on Allegations from Media Arising During Civil Unrest

Department of Public Safety, State Patrol Settle Lawsuit Based on Allegations from Media Arising During Civil Unrest

February 8, 2022

​​ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP) have settled a lawsuit based on allegations from members of the media arising during civil unrest.

The ACLU sued several law enforcement agencies on behalf of the Communication Workers of America and a number of individually-named freelance journalists, alleging mistreatment of media during the civil unrest and riots following George Floyd's and Daunte Wright's deaths. The litigation continues with the non-state defendants, which include the City of Minneapolis, Police Chief Arradondo​ and Hennepin County Sheriff Hutchinson.

The agreement includes additional training for state troopers, DPS and MSP policy changes, and a payment of $825,000 to the ACLU which includes attorneys' fees. In addition, DPS will pay for an independent external review of all internal affairs cases related to alleged MSP mistreatment of media in May 2020 and April 2021. The parties agreed to settle the dispute without further costs and with no admission of liability by any party.

“The ability of journalists to cover civil unrest in our communities must be protected and encouraged," DPS Commissioner John Harrington said. “The hallmarks of this agreement are transparency, accountability and excellence in policing. Our agency is committed to those principles as we work with members of the media to implement the terms of this agreement."

The court issued a preliminary order on October 28, 2021, effective during the pendency of the lawsuit, which defined journalists and exempted them from law enforcement orders to leave an area. It also prohibited MSP from arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against any person they reasonably should know is a journalist unless there was probable cause of a crime separate from failing to abide by law enforcement orders to leave an area. As part of the settlement, DPS, MSP and the ACLU have agreed to extend the terms of this order for the next six years with the federal court overseeing compliance.

“The unprecedented civil unrest and riots of the last two years were difficult for all involved, including media and law enforcement," said Colonel Matt Langer, chief of the State Patrol. “We learn from incidents like these and look for ways to make us better.  That's why we have already implemented several improvements, including the use of an ombudsman for media, a public information officer in the field, and the deployment of body-worn cameras." 

Terms of the agreement include:

  • DPS and MSP policy changes
    • MSP will require an internal affairs investigation of any allegation of misconduct related to media mistreatment.
    • MSP will require immediate notification of a supervisor when a member of the media is arrested or detained.
    • DPS will deploy a media ombudsman and media field liaison in all future mass arrest situations.

  • Investigation of Internal Affairs cases
    • DPS will employ an independent expert to conduct an external review of internal affairs cases related to alleged MSP mistreatment of media in May 2020 and April 2021. A report will be prepared at the conclusion of their work.

  • First Amendment, crowd control and data retention training
    • MSP will contract with a recognized expert to provide training to all state troopers on interactions with media and the First Amendment. The initial training will be open to any member of the media who would like to attend.
    • Following the initial training, MSP will provide annual refresher training for state troopers on crowd control, including treatment of the media and First Amendment rights.
    • MSP will also provide training on crowd control, including the treatment of the media, for all cadets at the Minnesota State Patrol training academy.
    • MSP will provide additional data retention training for all state troopers.

Additional reviews of DPS and MSP's response to civil unrest and its treatment of the media were conducted.

Review conducted by 21CP Solutions

21CP Solutions is a consultant that helps governments around the country with the challenges of delivering public safety services in the 21st Century. DPS contracted with 21CP Solutions in April 2021 to assist in “developing recommendations to improve public safety agencies' ability to support and facilitate the exercise of constitutionally protected speech and assembly during large-scale protest events. More specifically, 21CP Solutions focused on practices relating to media in the context of crowd management and policing responsibilities."

21CP surveyed journalists and other media providers to inform the structure and agenda for stakeholder engagement. Following the survey, 21CP conducted four focus group sessions and follow-up interviews with interested media participants.

As a result of their research, 21CP issued a report which included the following recommendations, which DPS intends to adopt. Many of the recommendations are included in the settlement agreement with the ACLU:

  • DPS should work with media to create a standardized, non-mandatory media credential available to the media and mutual aid partners.
  • DPS should deploy a media ombudsperson and media field liaison during demonstrations.
  • MSP should continue to engage with the POST Board on development of the POST Board model policy on First Amendment assembly.
  • DPS and MSP should develop a clear media policy stating what will be released and when information will be provided.
  • DPS and MSP should continue to coordinate regional trainings on crowd control management, to include rights of the media.

Operation Safety Net - After Action Review

From January 2021 to May 2021, DPS was involved in multi-agency preparations for the incident response to the March 2021 Derek Chauvin trial referred to as Operation Safety Net (OSN).  Following any critical incident, DPS and MSP conduct an internal After Action Review (AAR) as a standard law enforcement and emergency management best practice.  DPS conducted an AAR of the agency's planning and deployment activities during OSN. 

The AAR highlighted strengths and suggested areas for improvement solely for DPS and its divisions; DPS did not review the actions of the other governmental agencies that participated in the OSN planning and response.  In addition to the information contained in the AAR, DPS will continue to use the lessons learned from the May-June 2020 civil unrest for future incident response.

Documents

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CONTACT:
Bruce Gordon 
651-201-7171

bruce.gordon@state.mn.us
 


 


February 08, 2022

Department of Public Safety, State Patrol Settle Lawsuit Based on Allegations from Media Arising During Civil Unrest
Agreement includes training, policy changes, monetary payment
Page Content

​​ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the Minnesota State Patrol (MSP) have settled a lawsuit based on allegations from members of the media arising during civil unrest.

The ACLU sued several law enforcement agencies on behalf of the Communication Workers of America and a number of individually-named freelance journalists, alleging mistreatment of media during the civil unrest and riots following George Floyd's and Daunte Wright's deaths. The litigation continues with the non-state defendants, which include the City of Minneapolis, Police Chief Arradondo​ and Hennepin County Sheriff Hutchinson.

The agreement includes additional training for state troopers, DPS and MSP policy changes, and a payment of $825,000 to the ACLU which includes attorneys' fees. In addition, DPS will pay for an independent external review of all internal affairs cases related to alleged MSP mistreatment of media in May 2020 and April 2021. The parties agreed to settle the dispute without further costs and with no admission of liability by any party.

“The ability of journalists to cover civil unrest in our communities must be protected and encouraged," DPS Commissioner John Harrington said. “The hallmarks of this agreement are transparency, accountability and excellence in policing. Our agency is committed to those principles as we work with members of the media to implement the terms of this agreement."

The court issued a preliminary order on October 28, 2021, effective during the pendency of the lawsuit, which defined journalists and exempted them from law enforcement orders to leave an area. It also prohibited MSP from arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against any person they reasonably should know is a journalist unless there was probable cause of a crime separate from failing to abide by law enforcement orders to leave an area. As part of the settlement, DPS, MSP and the ACLU have agreed to extend the terms of this order for the next six years with the federal court overseeing compliance.

“The unprecedented civil unrest and riots of the last two years were difficult for all involved, including media and law enforcement," said Colonel Matt Langer, chief of the State Patrol. “We learn from incidents like these and look for ways to make us better.  That's why we have already implemented several improvements, including the use of an ombudsman for media, a public information officer in the field, and the deployment of body-worn cameras." 

Terms of the agreement include:

  • DPS and MSP policy changes
    • MSP will require an internal affairs investigation of any allegation of misconduct related to media mistreatment.
    • MSP will require immediate notification of a supervisor when a member of the media is arrested or detained.
    • DPS will deploy a media ombudsman and media field liaison in all future mass arrest situations.

  • Investigation of Internal Affairs cases
    • DPS will employ an independent expert to conduct an external review of internal affairs cases related to alleged MSP mistreatment of media in May 2020 and April 2021. A report will be prepared at the conclusion of their work.

  • First Amendment, crowd control and data retention training
    • MSP will contract with a recognized expert to provide training to all state troopers on interactions with media and the First Amendment. The initial training will be open to any member of the media who would like to attend.
    • Following the initial training, MSP will provide annual refresher training for state troopers on crowd control, including treatment of the media and First Amendment rights.
    • MSP will also provide training on crowd control, including the treatment of the media, for all cadets at the Minnesota State Patrol training academy.
    • MSP will provide additional data retention training for all state troopers.

Additional reviews of DPS and MSP's response to civil unrest and its treatment of the media were conducted.

Review conducted by 21CP Solutions

21CP Solutions is a consultant that helps governments around the country with the challenges of delivering public safety services in the 21st Century. DPS contracted with 21CP Solutions in April 2021 to assist in “developing recommendations to improve public safety agencies' ability to support and facilitate the exercise of constitutionally protected speech and assembly during large-scale protest events. More specifically, 21CP Solutions focused on practices relating to media in the context of crowd management and policing responsibilities."

21CP surveyed journalists and other media providers to inform the structure and agenda for stakeholder engagement. Following the survey, 21CP conducted four focus group sessions and follow-up interviews with interested media participants.

As a result of their research, 21CP issued a report which included the following recommendations, which DPS intends to adopt. Many of the recommendations are included in the settlement agreement with the ACLU:

  • DPS should work with media to create a standardized, non-mandatory media credential available to the media and mutual aid partners.
  • DPS should deploy a media ombudsperson and media field liaison during demonstrations.
  • MSP should continue to engage with the POST Board on development of the POST Board model policy on First Amendment assembly.
  • DPS and MSP should develop a clear media policy stating what will be released and when information will be provided.
  • DPS and MSP should continue to coordinate regional trainings on crowd control management, to include rights of the media.

Operation Safety Net - After Action Review

From January 2021 to May 2021, DPS was involved in multi-agency preparations for the incident response to the March 2021 Derek Chauvin trial referred to as Operation Safety Net (OSN).  Following any critical incident, DPS and MSP conduct an internal After Action Review (AAR) as a standard law enforcement and emergency management best practice.  DPS conducted an AAR of the agency's planning and deployment activities during OSN. 

The AAR highlighted strengths and suggested areas for improvement solely for DPS and its divisions; DPS did not review the actions of the other governmental agencies that participated in the OSN planning and response.  In addition to the information contained in the AAR, DPS will continue to use the lessons learned from the May-June 2020 civil unrest for future incident response.

Documents

###

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