Outcry over Minneapolis detective's transfer grows

One day after police officals said they had transferred him for being insubordinate, Minneapolis homicide detective Sgt. Charlie Adams enjoyed expressions of support from community activists, religious leaders, city officials and police union executives on Thursday.

A group that works to improve relations between the Minneapolis Police Department and members of the black clergy plans a news conference today on behalf of Adams and other black officers they believe have been treated unfairly. City Council Member Ralph Remington said he plans to meet with Chief Tim Dolan to discuss the department's treatment of black officers.

Dolan blamed Adams' transfer on a series of encounters with Lt. Amelia Huffman, head of the homicide unit. "The last straw," Dolan said, came when Adams publicly contradicted Huffman about the motive for the beating death of Mark Loesch.

In a news conference this month, Huffman said the suspected killer told police that Loesch, 41, was in the 3700 block of Elliot Avenue S. to buy marijuana. Adams later told the Star Tribune there was no evidence of a drug buy and apologized to Loesch's family.

Lt. John Delmonico, president of Minneapolis police federation, said union officials are investigating whether Dolan violated state law by publicly discussing a personnel decision.

Dolan said he discussed only the transfer because Adams' comments about the Loesch case appeared in the newspaper.

Delmonico said he doesn't have any knowledge of documents detailing previous insubordination allegations involving Adams. In fact, Adams recently received a very positive job review from Capt. David Hayhoe, Delmonico said.

The federation is filing a grievance over Adams' transfer. Delmonico said it's rare for an officer to be transferred for disciplinary reasons.

"As far as I know, the department hasn't issued an order that prevents officers to speak to the news media," Delmonico said.

Delmonico also questioned why Sgt. Richard Zimmerman, a white officer who made similar comments about the Loesch case to the Star Tribune, wasn't disciplined.

Remington wondered why no internal affairs investigation was conducted of Adams and said he talked with Council President Barbara Johnson about having the council conduct its own probe.

"I would think that we should not get into the mix of personnel decisions of any departments in this city," Johnson said. "We would be foolish to take away the prerogative of department heads to manage their personnel."

Remington said he may ask the whole council to vote on allowing the city attorney to do an investigation.

"I'm weighing my options," Remington said. "I want to see if there's a political will to do it and if there's enough concern to see if there is systemic racism within the police department in terms of hiring and firing procedures."

After Adams' transfer, Remington and community activists raised concerns about the recent demotion of three high-ranking black officers in the Department. Mayor R.T. Rybak said he is confident in Dolan's ability to run the Police Department and make sure it reflects the diversity of the community it serves.

"The results are clear: the Minneapolis Police Department now has an historic high 18 percent people of color, and 32 percent of the new police officers hired in the past year have been people of color," said Jeremy Hanson, the mayor's spokesman. No figures were available for the racial diversity of high-ranking officers.

Council Member Elizabeth Glidden said she also has requested a meeting with Dolan about Adams' transfer.

"I know he is one of the best detectives in the homicide unit," Glidden said of Adams. "It is a big loss to lose his skills. [Dolan is] the one who ultimately makes the decisions.

dchanen@startribune.com • 612-673-4465 tcollins@startribune.com • 612-673-1790