While severely restricting conservative candidates
SEE ARTICLE BELOW FROM ALPHA NEWS, MN
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Standards board advances rule change to allow noncitizen police officers in
Minnesota.
A group of unelected political appointees who control police licensing standards
in Minnesota are pushing to allow noncitizens to become cops.
By
Kyle Hooten <https://alphanews.org/author/kyle-hooten/>
-
April 28, 2022
The Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) is trying
to allow noncitizens to become licensed police officers and prohibit people who
engage with undefined “hate” groups on social media from entering the force.
These changes were approved <https://youtu.be/oEDH1eGxR3U?t=6928>by the board by
a large margin and are awaiting review from the revisor.
*Removing citizenship requirement*
Presently, the minimum selection standards to become a licensed peace officer in
Minnesota require that applicants “be a citizen of the United States.” The POST
Board, however, has approved a proposal
<https://alphanews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Proposal-1.pdf>to also include
candidates who are “eligible to work in the United States under federal
requirements.”
This is not a unique proposal. California is trying
<https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-dem-bill-will-allow-non-citizens-to-become-police-officers>to
do the same thing, but California has initiated this change through the state
legislature while in Minnesota it’s being pushed by a group of unelected
political appointees.
Further, efforts in other states to allow noncitizens to become police officers
have been extended only to permanent residents, not simply those eligible to
work in the U.S. — a much broader category. The POST Board’s Advisory
Committee noted
<https://dps.mn.gov/entity/post/meetings/Documents/Board%20Meeting%20Agenda%20and%20Materials%20on%204-21-2022.pdf>this:
“There are many issues and practicalities created by adding ‘authorized to work
in the United States’ to the minimum selection standards of the revised rule,”
as opposed to keeping the rule the same or allowing only for lawful permanent
residents to become police.
The committee also notes “concerns as to whether a person should be granted
authority as a police officer to take away the freedom of a citizen when that
person is not a citizen.”
Despite the fact that the advisory committee did not support this change, the
board advanced the measure earlier this month.
*‘Hate group’ restrictions*
The board also voted to affirm a rule change
<https://alphanews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Proposal-1.pdf>that would
allow the state to revoke the licenses of officers who participate “in any form
in the activities of a white supremacist; hate or extremist group.” However,
what constitutes such a group is barely defined and the criteria for supporting
such a group apparently includes membership in the wrong online communities.
The full text of the proposed hate group rule changes can be found on page 21 of
thelinked <https://alphanews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Proposal-1.pdf>document.
According to the proposed changes, support for a white supremacist hate group
can be demonstrated by “engagement in cyber or social media posts, chats, [or]
forums” that promote derogatory actions against protected minorities or
“seditious activities.”
“Cyber presence” in a hate group’s “events” is also cause for license
revocation, according to the board.
“Seditious activities” are not defined. What it means to have a “cyber presence”
is not defined.
The changes also propose that officers caught making extremist “hand signs”
should be punished, an apparent allusion to abroad
<https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article249887488.html>andlong-running
<https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-state-police-salem-trooper-racist-hand-symbol/> conspiracy
that police who make theOK hand gesture
<https://alphanews.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/FElGwBOX0AQ5J1d.jpg>are
telegraphing their adherence to extremist right-wing ideologies.
The advisory committee reached an exact tie in determining if they support or oppose this proposal. Those dissentingsaid <https://dps.mn.gov/entity/post/meetings/Documents/Board%20Meeting%20Agenda%20and%20Materials%20on%204-21-2022.pdf>they “specifically object to the broad language and activities that are identified.”
“The terms support, advocate or participate are very broad and can include
activities that do not directly tie to any activities that are considered
derogatory or harmful,” the dissenting members of the committee said. “Support
and advocating can be as broad as liking a social media post, even though a
peace officer has not taken any further material action to promote an
organization’s mission.”
They also questioned why white supremacist groups need to be specified, pointing
out how the terms “hate and extremist groups cover white supremacist groups.”
Alpha News spoke with a police chief who serves a rural Minnesota community who
raised additional questions about this proposal. The chief highlighted how a
bad-faith actor could leverage this rule to discriminate against members of
religious sects that oppose gay marriage or do not allow women to become faith
leaders. By the letter of the proposal, the chief observed, these groups could
be considered hate groups and officers who donate to them, participate in
services or evangelize could face license denial or revocation.
During discussion on the proposed language, POST Board member Justin Terrell,
who is appointed to represent the public, seemingly accused white supremacists
of killing people during the George Floyd riots.
“White supremacist organizations … have blood on their hands from throughoutthe
uprising
<https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/22/the-heart-of-the-uprising-in-minneapolis>,”
hesaid <https://youtu.be/oEDH1eGxR3U?t=6669>, perpetuating a theory
<https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/07/28/warrant-white-supremacist-instigated-looting-at-george-floyd-protest-in-minneapolis>that
white supremacists kickstarted the violence that wracked Minneapolis during the
summer of 2020.
READ MORE AT :
(https://alphanews.org/standards-board-advances-rule-change-to-allow-noncitizen-police-officers-in-minnesota/)
