St. Paul police chief tries to move past fired cop's reinstatement

St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell and community leaders are looking for ways to move forward to address police accountability. That follows an arbitrator's ruling that an officer fired for severely injuring an unarmed African-American man should be reinstated.

Frank Baker spent two weeks in the hospital last summer after a St. Paul officer kicked him in the ribs while he was on the ground. Another officer had unleashed his dog on Baker, who suffered severe lacerations on his legs and feet. As it turned out, police were searching for someone else.

Axtell apologized for the incident. The city will pay Baker $2 million. The officer who handled the dog was suspended for 30 days, and the officer who kicked Baker, Brett Palkowitsch, was terminated. But Palkowitsch had a right through his union's contract with the police department to try to get his job back.

An arbitrator looked at all the facts in the case and said both officers' actions were egregious. But he ruled Palkowitsch should be reinstated because kicking a suspect had been an accepted use of force for the department, until this year.

The arbitration decision has left many community members feeling like there's no way to hold officers accountable for their actions.

"The whole city suffers," said community organizer Curtis Avent. "There's no reason civilians should have faith in a system that allows officers to brutalize people and get put back in a position of power."

Axtell was attending a conference and wasn't available for an interview Thursday. In a written statement, he said he stands by his decision to "hold everyone in our department to the highest possible standards."

Mayor Chris Coleman said in an interview that Axtell has the community's trust.

"I supported the chief's original recommendation, original decision, but the officer had his due process rights. That's the result of it, and we obviously respect the process," Coleman said.

The union that represents the city's officers praised the arbitrator's decision. In a statement, St. Paul Police Federation President Dave Titus said the ruling shows termination decisions must be based on facts rather than feelings.

But some community members say it's a problem that the officer who kicked Baker is back on the force. Tyrone Terrill, president of the African American Leadership Council, said he remains confident in Axtell and plans to discuss concerns about Palkowitsch's return with the chief soon.

"It's a major concern when a man with this kind of behavior and conduct is put back on the streets," Terrill said.

Paul Schnell, Maplewood's chief of police, said it's a "challenge for everyone" when officers are returned.

"It's a really difficult job, and I think that's the other thing that is sometimes lost," he said. "But at the same time we don't have a sense of clarity about what is the line. What is the line that if you cross, you cannot do the job anymore?"

Schnell added a conversation needs to happen in police departments everywhere, but it's not easy since departments have operated a certain way for a long time.

"These are really complicated and complex issues, especially in the types of systems we have in operation and have been in operation for a long, long time," he said.

Local and national groups concerned about police brutality have come up with some alternative accountability mechanisms to deal with the fact that police officers are often able to keep their jobs, despite misconduct. Some have suggested officers carry their own liability insurance.

Darius Charney, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, said some police departments, like New York City, can have officers accused of misconduct go through a public disciplinary trial, which he says is more transparent than arbitration.

"If the judge were to rule this officer is not guilty and he shouldn't be fired, at least you have a record there where people can say, 'OK, I was there, I saw that witness testify,'" Charney said.

Aside from changing the way officers are disciplined, Charney said police departments can still address misconduct through prevention. One idea is to evaluate officers based on problem solving skills and examples of respectful policing rather than on how many arrests they make or tickets they issue.

Peter Cox and Mike Moen contributed reporting for this story.