MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Funding for a key Minneapolis Police Department accountability initiative after the death of George Floyd has fallen through…
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Funding for a key Minneapolis Police Department accountability initiative after the death of George Floyd has fallen through, officials confirmed Thursday, meaning potential delays as the city scrambles to find another source for the money.
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo announced June 10 the department would contract with Benchmark Analytics, a Chicago company, to use its data-driven system to identify problematic behavior by officers so supervisors could take corrective action. Developed by the University of Chicago, it’s more advanced than similar systems used by many other departments across the country, as well as a system that Minneapolis tried in 2009 that never really got off the ground.
The nonprofit Minneapolis Foundation was to fund the project for the first year, but CEO R. T. Rybak — a founding member of the Benchmark Analytics board and a former Minneapolis mayor — confirmed Thursday that the foundation has dropped its involvement.
Rybak, who left the Benchmark board last December, said the foundation got involved because Arradondo wanted to move quickly. But he said they backed away “when there began to be some drama around Benchmark.” He said the foundation wanted to avoid any harm to its broader work against racial injustice and in support of criminal justice reform, which predates Floyd’s death.
