Minneapolis police union contract approved by city council
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minneapolis City Council has voted to approve a new contract with the city's police union.
The $9 million three-year agreement is the first police union contract considered by the city since the murder of George Floyd. It includes pay raises and $7,000 incentive payments for both new officers and veterans who remain on the force through the end of the year.
The new contract also changes the processes after "critical incidents," including new mandatory health screenings before an officer returns to duty, and increases authority of the chief to determine the proper duty location of an officer following that incident.
Critics have noted the contact's lack of changes to the discipline process and the addition of a clause requiring the city to inform officers of the identity of anyone making public records request about them.
Negotiations for the next contract are expected to begin later this year.
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The Minneapolis Police Officers Federation released the following statement Thursday afternoon:
For 813 days, the members of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis have been working without a contract. Today marks a significant step forward for the City of Minneapolis, the residents of the City, and the police officers who choose to continue to show up and do amazing work in the face of such adversity. The mounting pressures on this profession have made it challenging, not only for the City of Minneapolis but for numerous other agencies across the state to hire and retain qualified officers.
With the passage of this contract, the City of Minneapolis now has a greater likelihood of hiring and retaining officers, who might otherwise not choose to work for this city. This is also an opportunity to continue the efforts of rebuilding the relationship between the City Council and the Police Officers Federation. The commitment to rebuild the relationship needs to be from all stakeholders. Today we recognize there is work to do moving forward and we are committed to doing that work for the betterment of the City and communities we serve.