As if the Minneapolis Police Department’s reputation couldn’t take any more punches after the murder of George Floyd, the latest scrutiny they’ve come under is for the promotion of a cop accused of being racist. Now, the public is wondering if the department is really taking their whole “police reform” vow seriously.
Aimee Linson, a 25-year MPD vet, was placed on paid leave for an entire year following the resurfacing of a racist email she forwarded within the department back in 2012. Of the message’s contents was the subject line “Only in the Ghetto” along with half a dozen images of negative portrayals of Black people, according to the Star Tribune. It was almost a given after the Justice Department found the MPD was riddled with racial bias and abuse of deadly force that any smidgen of racism would sound off alarms.
After a lengthy suspension, Linson was handed a written reprimand in April by Chief Brian O’Hara stating that she failed to meet department standards and undermined public trust, the report says.
However, he switched up and endorsed her recent promotion to head lieutenant above the homicide unit.
Read more about it from CBS News:
O’Hara defended the decision by highlighting Linson’s experience leading both the Crisis Negotiations and Shooting Response teams.
“Of the Lieutenants currently available to oversee Homicide, Lt. Aimee Linson is the most qualified,” O’Hara said in a statement to the Star Tribune on Wednesday. “In addition to her ability to interact with individuals in the initial moments of grief after a homicide, she understands complex investigative processes and is well suited to provide leadership for those responsible for the crucial role of homicide investigations.”
Since the DOJ ripped them a new one, the MPD was required to partake in a consent decree - a legally binding, court-ordered agreement to initiate police reforms. However, Linson’s promotion seems to have thrown a wrench in the department’s progressive foot forward.
“The city, and MPD specifically, is not in fact committed to the change that they claim to be embracing. They’ve got consent decrees hanging over their heads and they’re still doing the same stuff that created the need for the consent decrees in the first place,” said Kimberly Milliard, from the Racial Justice Network via CBS.