Very important article from MPR on the data that Saint Paul Police
Chief Todd Axtel released, which demonstrates that Black
drivers are stopped far more frequently than our composition in
the local population warrants. . .
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/12/12/blacks-most-likely-to-be-ticketed-stpaul-cop-stops
Saint Paul NAACP in the News
Surge of youth violence in St. Paul prompts a show of unity
St. Paul officers, ministers and others seek to head off the crimes of summer. March in St. Paul came in like a violent lion, with dozens of young people throughout the city committing assaults with guns and knives. In response, community, faith and law enforcement leaders gathered at the Hallie Q. Brown Center Wednesday to offer help to those who have felt the pull of gang and street violence. They also urged parents and young people to enjoy a safe and law-abiding summer. For those who want out of that life of violence, the gathered leaders promised help with finding a job. For those who don’t — they offered no nonsense. “There are some folks who need to go to jail,” said Dianne Binns, a vice president with the St. Paul NAACP. Said Gilbert de La O, a West Side community leader bracing for the upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebration: “Our welcome mat does not extend to the thugs and the gang bangers.” Read the rest of the article at StarTribune.com | St. Paul police shoot and kill suspect who had been sending death threats NAACP calls for probe of St. Paul officer's shooting By Nicole Norfleet, Star Tribune, January 14, 2015 It started when St. Paul police responded to a call about a man making death threats via text messages. Minutes later, in the dark of Wednesday morning, their suspect was dead in the city’s first fatal officer-involved shooting of the year. But what played out after police arrived at the 200 block of University Avenue E. shortly after 2 a.m. was far from clear by day’s end, leading a local NAACP official to call for an independent investigation into the shooting death of Marcus Golden, a 24-year-old black man. St. Paul Police Chief Thomas Smith issued a statement late Wednesday saying that “preliminary information indicates that the suspect drove his vehicle at the officers.” No officers were injured. As of Wednesday night, police had not identified Golden. A spokesperson for the family, however, confirmed late Wednesday that it was Golden who had been killed... Read the rest of the article at StarTribune.com |