Justice Dept.'s 'listening session' draws critics of St. Anthony police

The U.S. Justice Department heard sharp criticism Monday of St. Anthony's Police Department as part of its independent evaluation of the suburban Twin Cities force. Last fall, St. Anthony police asked for an outside assessment of its policies and procedures.

The first of three listening sessions this week was in Falcon Heights, where Officer Jeronimo Yanez shot and killed Philando Castile, 32, during a traffic stop along Larpenteur Avenue on July 6. Castile's girlfriend Diamond Reynolds streamed the aftermath live on Facebook, sparking worldwide outrage and protests in the Twin Cities. Yanez faces charges of manslaughter and dangerous discharge of a firearm.

Mary Brandenberger with the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services said the review is not an investigation, either of Yanez or Castile's death.

"The St. Anthony Police Department asked us to come in and take a look at some of their policies, practices, training, recruitment, hiring, to take a look at things they're working on within their department," Brandenberger said.

The Justice Department has conducted similar reviews in Philadelphia, Spokane, Wash., and San Francisco. Brandenberger said St. Anthony is the smallest law enforcement agency to take part, and community input is key to the collaborative reform process.

No one from St. Anthony police took part in the first listening session Monday with around 150 people at Falcon Heights Elementary School.

Most speakers were highly critical of police, saying officers disproportionately target people of color for traffic stops. No one spoke in favor of policing the way it is now.

Chauntyll Allen with Black Lives Matter St. Paul recounted the warning she gave her teenage son when he learned to drive.

"When you go past, you have to make sure that you slow down, put your hands at 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock. If you have a hat on, turn it forward so you look like a baseball player from around their neighborhood, and don't act agitated when the cops pull you over," Allen said. "I went through a thorough lesson to make sure that my son came home."

An MPR News analysis of St. Anthony police traffic stop data shows that officers in that department for several years have been ticketing black drivers disproportionately in cases where they had wide discretion to pull someone over. Castile, who was African-American, had been stopped many times.

Isaac Mielke, 20, is white. He grew up in Falcon Heights and, until Castile's killing, he never understood the stark differences in the way whites and people of color perceive law enforcement.

"I've been out past curfew or speeding or whatever a million times, and the prospect of getting arrested has never remotely crossed my mind. That's just not a feasible thing that can happen," Mielke said.

The Justice Department says it expects to have recommendations for St. Anthony police in about 10 months, and plans to spend a year and a half after that helping implement the proposals.

The St. Anthony Police Department's 23 sworn officers patrol not only the village of St. Anthony, but also the nearby communities of Lauderdale and Falcon Heights.

The next listening session is at St. Anthony Village High School at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday followed by another Wednesday night at Lauderdale City Hall.