Twin Cities police departments react to NYPD killings

Police departments in the Twin Cities are mourning the killing of two New York Police Department officers in Brooklyn over the weekend.

Authorities say that Ismaaiyl Brinsley, 28, fatally shot officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos as they sat in their patrol car Saturday afternoon. Brinsley, who reportedly shot his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore earlier in the day, later killed himself on a nearby subway platform.

Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau posted a message to officers on the department's Facebook page on Sunday, calling the killings "outrageous and unacceptable."

"The past few weeks have been challenging for us all but especially for those of you on the front line," Harteau wrote. "I am so proud that you continue to be the consummate professionals. Do not let the public debate and politics surrounding incidents across the country impact your focus on our task at hand and your successes in improving public safety in the city of Minneapolis."

Reports say that Brinsley had an extensive criminal record and mental health issues. Police say in online posts before the shooting, he wrote of plans to shoot officers and expressed anger about the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, who died during confrontations with police.

Minneapolis Police Department spokesman John Elder said there are "heightened states of awareness" about officer safety, but that the department's message to officers is to "stay focused" on public safety.

"Our officers, like every officer in every police department, are at risk every day they go to work," Elder said. "We're just focusing, making sure that we do all the right things, as we do every day. "

St. Paul police spokesman Sgt. Paul Paulos said the department is focusing on continuing to build good relationships with the community.

"We look at St. Paul as an individual, things may be going on nationally, but we concentrate on the efforts of our hometown," Paulos said. "When there is an issue, we come together and work on it. When there is an issue, we don't stand alone, we stand together."

Paulos and Elder said the shooting hasn't yet prompted any policy changes or new directives in their departments.

Lt. John Delmonico, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis, said he's not sure police need to change tactics because of the shootings in New York.

"What happened to these two officers, I don't think there's anything they could've done different to have avoided it," Delmonico said. "That could be any two cops sitting in any squad car across the country."

Neither Harteau nor St. Paul Police Chief Tom Smith were immediately available for comment.

A wave of protests have taken place nationwide following grand jury decisions not to indict police officers who killed Eric Garner and Michael Brown. In New York City, the police union has laid blame for Saturday's killings at the feet of the protesters and the city's mayor.

On Saturday, thousands of people participated in a #BlackLivesMatter demonstration at the Mall of America. Police said 25 people were arrested at Saturday's event.

Michael McDowell, an organizer for Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, which spearheaded the protest at the mall, said the group isn't anti-police.

"A lot of people are trying to frame this as police against protesters, but that's not what this is about," McDowell said. "We have nothing against police as a whole, we just want some policy that essentially polices the police and stops the killings."

The group posted a statement on their Facebook page on Sunday calling the killings in New York "senseless," but vowing to continue to advocate for an overhaul of policing practices.

"Our hearts grieve with New York," the statement said. "An eye for an eye is not our vision of justice, and we who have taken to the streets seeking justice and liberation know that we need deep transformation to correct the larger institutional problems of racial profiling, abuse and violence."

Spokespeople for police departments in St. Paul and Minneapolis also said the New York shootings will not change how they respond to protests.