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Minneapolis police chief nominee meets residents
by Art Hughes, Minnesota Public Radio
January 7, 2004

William McManus, the nominee for Minneapolis police chief, talked with residents at an open house Tuesday night. McManus is currently chief in Dayton, Ohio. (MPR Photo/Art Hughes)

Mayor R.T. Rybak's pick for police chief, William McManus, met with residents at a south Minneapolis community center Tuesday night. The mayor's office organized the meeting in anticipation of two key council actions Wednesday. With the full council vote a week and a half away, Rybak is applying pressure on those council members who are still not supporting McManus.

Minneapolis, Minn. — As McManus personally greeted the 100 or so residents who came to the meeting, he heard criticisms of police from activists, praise from supporters and complaints from ordinary citizens.

He told the crowd that as police chief in Dayton, Ohio, and assistant chief in Washington D.C., he's experienced almost any type of threat a law enforcement officer can imagine -- including bombings, presidential assassination attempts, and the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon.

"The other thing that I bring with me is a reputation for allowing myself and setting myself up to be held accountable by the community," McManus said. "I will open up this department. I will make it as transparent as possible and be as inclusive -- more inclusive anyone in here has ever imagined a police department would be."

	Audience questions

As an example, he pointed to an advisory panel he formed in Dayton made up of citizens who advise him on department policies before they're implemented. Two people on that panel also serve on a department review board.

While Minneapolis already has a history of community policing, McManus says he had to build a program that emphasizes citizen contact from the ground up in Dayton when he took over there two years ago.

"Community policing is on a hot, front burner with me," he said. "And if it's not where it should be right now, it will be."

Many audience members questioned McManus' ability to deal with excessive force by officers. One person asked if he would "challenge thumpers."

We need somebody that's going to work with the community, that has a reputation for dealing with minorities and police brutality, or dealing with racial profiling, and he fits that. But at the same time ... we are going to watch and hold him accountable for what he's saying he's going to do. - Kizzy Johnson, community activist

"If you go back and check my background, my reputation through my entire career has been one of someone who deals with those types of situations and does not turn a blind eye," McManus said.

McManus earned a no-confidence vote by the police union in Dayton, in part because of restrictions on firearms use and high-speed pursuits.

His nomination still faces opposition on the council, where McManus doesn't yet have the seven-vote majority needed to become chief. Mayor Rybak mentioned specific council members who McManus supporters should call.

"Robert Lilligren, who represents this area, has been strongly against this," Rybak told those at the meeting. "I need your help to make the case. Gary Schiff, who lives nearby here, who's shared with us many of these concerns -- I think respectfully -- could get a call to maybe ask for some support there. Scott Benson, who I think has been with us, is undecided and he could be helpful."

The reception by those at the meeting was mostly positive. Shane Price coordinates the African American Men's Project for Hennepin County. He ran against Rybak for mayor in the primary but later endorsed him. He said he liked what he's seen in McManus so far.

"I'm pretty clear that he's not afraid to challenge either the Federation or the policies that have kept communities frustrated for years and years," Price said.

Communities United Against Police Brutality supports McManus' appointment. Kizzy Johnson is active with the watchdog group.

"We need somebody that's going to work with the community, that has a reputation for dealing with minorities and police brutality, or dealing with racial profiling, and he fits that," Johnson said. "But at the same time we support him, we are going to watch and hold him accountable for what he's saying he's going to do."

City council members and many others who don't support McManus said two Minneapolis deputy chiefs who also applied are more deserving of the chief job.

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