Minneapolis Police Department shuts down narcotics unit

The Minneapolis Police Department responded this week to a projected $5 million budget deficit by disbanding its narcotics unit, making Minneapolis the only major U.S. city without one, according to the unit's former leader.

However, Chief Tim Dolan said Tuesday that the department still has sufficient resources to handle drug cases. The unit, which had 14 officers when it was shut down Monday, looked into nearly 4,000 cases this year, including many dealing with mid- and high-level drug dealers, said Lt. Marie Przynski, who was in charge of the unit.

That work resulted in 519 federal and state charges, she said, adding that unit officers seized about $300,000 in drug money, 24 guns, and 26 vehicles, and foiled a bank robbery.

"This unit has been highly productive, if not the most productive unit in the Minneapolis Police Department," Przynski said. "I'm disappointed, and so are my officers, about this decision."

Minneapolis is now the only major city whose police department lacks a narcotics unit, she said. While Dolan complimented the unit's work, he quickly ticked off a list of how the department will continue to investigate drug cases.

Each of the department's five precincts has a community resource team, which handles street- and mid-level drug dealing. The Violent Offender Task Force works on high-level drug cases, and the department has officers on a federal Drug Enforcement Administration task force to go after drug sources. The department also recently restarted a gang unit, Dolan said.

"Are we going to be as good as we were before in dealing with drug cases? I don't know," he said. "Their stats speak for themselves."

The department needs to lose 50 positions next year to reduce the deficit, Dolan said. About 30 of those could come through attrition, said Lt. John Delmonico, head of the police federation. Dolan also is considering offering an early retirement program, Delmonico said.

"My understanding is that the narcotics unit does good, proactive work on bigger cases," Delmonico said. "Given the connection between gangs and drugs, is this really in the best interest for crime fighting?"

Some will patrol streets

It's unclear where all the officers will be reassigned, but three will join the Financial Crimes Unit. One of those is an asset forfeiture investigator, and another specializes in pharmaceutical investigations ranging from forged prescriptions to insurance fraud. The narcotics unit recently received a $242,000 grant for a second forfeiture investigator.

At least temporarily, narcotics officers will be assigned to street patrols or to other investigative functions, Dolan said. He will then shuffle officers to areas hit by attrition. He doesn't plan to reduce street patrols or investigators in primary units such as homicide, robbery, sex assault, domestic abuse or juvenile, he said. The department may also reduce the number of deputy chiefs from 3 to 2, Delmonico said.

"The department could save a lot of money if they corrected the bad behavior of a few bad cops," said City Council Member Ralph Remington, referring to several recent high-dollar lawsuit settlements. "I just learned today that the chief was cutting the narcotics unit, so I want to look at the issue more closely."

In St. Paul, the Police Department had to reduce this year's budget by $2.2 million. The department cut officers in the hostage negotiation, SWAT and canine units, but it didn't dismantle an entire unit, said Sgt. Paul Schnell, the department's spokesman. The department also saved money by not filling numerous open positions, he said.

Some Minneapolis police officers and neighborhood activists wonder if the department is wasting years of drug expertise and case management by placing narcotics officers back on the street. Roberta Englund, executive director of the Folwell and Webber/Camden Neighborhood Association on the city's north side, doesn't believe the department has adequate resources to replace the work of the narcotics unit.

She recalled how violent crime went up about 10 years ago when the department's juvenile crime unit was disbanded. Dolan restarted the unit, which has played a significant role in reducing violent crime the last two years.

"The narcotics unit had a coordinated focus and effort, and it's safe to say that most of the crime across the city is related to drugs," Englund said. "I'm dismayed at what I would say is a nearsighted decision that will have serious ramifications."

Cutting the unit wasn't an easy decision, Dolan said. but "we don't have the budget to support everything we have right now. We have to make do in lean times, and that will probably continue in 2011."

David Chanen • 612-673-4465