Fines for off-duty police squad car use considered by Mpls leaders

Minneapolis police overtime funding passed by council committee

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo and other MPD officials spoke before the city’s Public Health and Safety Committee to ask for $5 million to cover rising overtime costs in 2021.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officers could potentially be facing city-imposed fines for using department squad cars and other resources if a new ordinance making its way through the Minneapolis City Council gains approval.

What we know

Currently, Minneapolis police officers have the right to work off-duty while still in a professional capacity, utilizing MPD resources such as squad cars, weapons and uniforms while being employed privately.

In an effort to reign-in their usage, on Oct. 7, Minneapolis Council Member Robin Wonsley and Council President Elliott Payne advanced an ordinance through the city's Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee on Monday that would implement a fee to, "recoup the cost of wear-and-tear on city vehicles and other city resources while being used by officers for personal profit."

"Many police take private entity jobs while using city-owned cars and weapons, and carry city liability while doing so," said Wonsley on Monday during the committee hearing, while noting such a system was "fundamentally broken."

Wonsley said that no other city department is allowed such a wide range of off-duty resource usage, saying, "public works employees can’t take their trucks, go fill in potholes after-hours and get paid for doing it."

The intent of the ordinance would be to regulate the use of city resources by police within the city’s legal authority, according to Wonsley.

"This is just one of the costs we can begin to quantify and recoup from officers who choose to work off-duty," said Wonsley. "The fees do not address what’s become a dangerous off-duty system, but they are strong starting places to ensure that taxpayers are not subsidizing officers when they are working off-duty for personal gain."

In turn, Wonsley said she hoped a fee structure would require MPD to more closely adhere to tracking the off-duty hours that its officers are working.

When reached by FOX 9, a spokesperson for MPD declined to comment on the ordinance.

What’s next?

The range and scope of any potential fines is not known yet.

Currently, the City Attorney’s Office has been directed to draft an ordinance giving the city the authority to impose such fees. The ordinance would then need approval of the entire city council before being enacted.

A draft of the ordinance is expected to be proposed to the Administration and Enterprise Oversight Committee no later than Nov. 4, 2024.