Recent content from Andy Mannix

Citizen's group spells out plan to overhaul Minneapolis police
Proposed reforms include improved training, creating a new community safety liaison to help oversee police, expanding the city's mental health and response programs and giving more money to violence interrupters and outreach workers helping to fight rising gun crime.

St. Paul fire crews recover bodies of two workers who died in 'dirt avalanche' in trench
Fire crews spent 12 hours digging up the bodies after what authorities are calling a tragic accident.

Authorities identify woman shot to death in north Mpls. camper
Taleen Rochelle Tana, 42, died of wounds from gunfire from another vehicle Tuesday.

Frey announces new discipline grid for Mpls. officers who break rules
The updated discipline matrix includes a new category for infractions that will result in automatic termination.

Mpls. to return to state talks over charges of racist policing
Six weeks ago, Minneapolis leaders pledged to cooperate with the Human Rights charge of systemic racist policing. The negotiations have since taken on an adversarial tone, making the future of a court-enforceable agreement uncertain.

Suit: In botched drug case, Mpls. police fabricated informant and evidence
A judge threw out evidence against Andre Moore in September 2020, citing police's "reckless disregard for the truth." Moore's new lawsuit says the officers falsified evidence to raid his home.

Mpls. again asks state agency for evidence of police social media spying
In a letter, the City Attorney's Office say it needs more corroborating evidence to continue negotiations over a consent decree.

Two former MPD officers charged in George Floyd killing ask judge to delay, relocate trial
Attorneys for Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng told Judge Peter Cahill it will be impossible to select an impartial jury in a city that just days ago marked the two-year anniversary of Floyd's death.

Mpls. halts police reform talks, citing lack of evidence on spying
Since releasing its damning report April 27, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights has refused to release underlying evidence on covert social media spying to city officials, the media or targets of the surveillance.

Mpls. to pay $1.5M to man police shot from unmarked van
"The goal of the civil suit was not a check," Jaleel Stallings said. "It was getting justice and accountability. And I don't feel like I've received that."

Former Minneapolis police officer says judge's courtroom restrictions violate constitutional right to open trial
The attorney for J. Alexander Kueng objected to an order to keep the public out of the courtroom.

Mpls. to pay $200K to settle complaints by former officers
Colleen Ryan alleged she was denied promotion because she's an openly gay woman, while former Deputy Chief Art Knight alleged his demotion was retaliatory.

What do Mpls. residents want in next police chief? Integrity, public safety, accountability
Some want internal reform. Others say gun violence should be the top priority. They all agree that picking the next police chief is among the most important decisions Minneapolis will make in 2022.

Minnesota's top federal prosecutor announces crackdown on carjackings, guns, gangs
Responding to the recent crime wave in the Twin Cities, Andy Luger said he will devote all criminal prosecutors in his office to violent crime cases.

2 charged in ambush shooting of Mpls. police employee near child-care center
Prosecutors say Timothy Amacher and Colleen Larson plotted to shoot Nicole Lenway, leaving her badly injured, after a custody battle.

FDA won't disqualify HCMC doctors from research over sedative studies
The FDA denied a petition to take harsh action against doctors who subjected patients to "significantly increased risk" in experimental drug research.

Dept. of Human Rights report on MPD: A decade of leadership failed in proper police oversight
Investigators say elected officials and top police brass didn't do enough to stop a pattern of racist policing.

Frey calls rights report's findings 'repugnant, at times horrific'
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights investigation found the Police Department has violated the civil rights law, and multiple iterations of city leaders failed to hold officers accountable for misconduct.

Trial of 3 former officers in Floyd death won't be livestreamed
With COVID-19 restrictions loosening, Judge Peter Cahill ruled Minnesota law doesn't support the option of broadcasting the trial.
Woman shot outside Minneapolis day care is MPD forensic scientist
The shooting is being investigated as a domestic assault, according to sources familiar with the incident.

Minnesota Supreme Court to review ruling on Minneapolis police staffing
The case arises from a complaint by North Side residents, who say elected officials violated the city's charter.

Minneapolis approves $1.8 million in payouts for two protesters shot with projectiles
Both lawsuits said the women were protesting peacefully when police shot them in the face with 'less-lethal' munitions.

After pleas for leniency, mosque bombers receive 14, 16 years
The judge said their "substantial assistance" allowed the sentences of less than half of the 35-year statutory minimums in the domestic terror case.

Judge undecided on allowing cameras at state trial of ex-Mpls. officers
In a pretrial hearing, prosecutors said the three defendants rejected a recent plea offer.

Minn. mosque bombers ask for leniency, cite testimony on militia leader
Sentencing for Michael McWhorter and Joe Morris is scheduled for Tuesday.

Mpls. officer who fatally shot Amir Locke won't be charged
The announcement comes after the February shooting of Locke, who was not the subject of the search warrant.

Mpls. police will no longer be able to use no-knock warrants
Officers must announce their presence and wait 20 seconds during the day, and 30 seconds at night, before entering, unless under "exigent circumstances."

Cop or doctor? In hospital's new policy, physicians must choose
The decision to ban Hennepin Healthcare staff from moonlighting as law enforcement marks a change of course for the medical system and has prompted at least one doctor to choose policing over the hospital.

Hopkins man guilty in conspiracy to sell drugs online that resulted in 11 fatal overdoses, including U professor
A federal jury found Aaron Broussard guilty on all 17 counts.

Jury hears closing arguments in trial of Hopkins man accused of killing 11 people in online drug conspiracy
Prosecutors say Aaron Broussard sold a knockoff Adderall mixture he bought from China, which his customers were unaware contained fentanyl.

Judge rules Mpls. police illegally searched Frey staffer's car
Gun, drug charges dismissed because evidence didn't support the officers' claim of smelling marijuana during a traffic stop, she found.

Head of Minneapolis police oversight commission resigns
Abigail Cerra, chair of the Police Conduct Oversight Commission, said a combination of passivity and active resistance within the city made the work futile.

Panel: Mpls. didn't violate 'minimum-staffing' for cops
The three-judge appeals panel said the charter requires the city to fund a baseline of officers, but the mayor had discretion over how many to employ.

Report: Mpls. failed to follow emergency protocols during protests, riots
Chad McGinty, a former law enforcement officer who worked on the review, described a breakdown of "critical" communication among government agencies during the unrest that left first responders with "limited" guidance.

Minneapolis, St. Paul declare snow emergencies after sloppy March storm
The warm-up last week was a trap. It's still winter.
One dead, three injured after south Minneapolis shooting
Police say they have not arrested anyone in the early-morning shooting, which occurred in the Whittier neighborhood.

Hennepin commissioner calls on HCMC to fire employees over racist photos
In an interview Thursday, Hennepin Healthcare leaders said they're implementing new training to change the organization's culture. "We wish there was a playbook," said the CEO.

HCMC promised to change. Then came the blackface photos
Some employees say the response will test leadership's commitment to change, following a series of incidents that have exacerbated racial tensions inside the hospital system.

State trial's fate hangs in balance after guilty verdict for ex-Mpls. officers
Former prosecutor says judge has wide latitude and will look to Derek Chauvin's sentence.

3 former Mpls. officers guilty on all counts related to Floyd's death
J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were convicted by a federal jury Thursday of depriving George Floyd of his constitutional rights during the fatal restraint outside Cup Foods on May 25, 2020.

Jury wraps up first day of deliberating federal civil rights case against 3 ex-Minneapolis officers in George Floyd death
The all-white jury began deliberating shortly before 10 a.m., resumes Thursday.

In closing arguments at trial of 3 former officers, attorneys spar over 'willful' intent and 'politics' of policing
The case will go to the jury on Wednesday morning.

Defense of ex-officers puts Mpls. 'paramilitary' training on trial
Attorneys for the three men say they shouldn't be held liable for poor training, toxic culture.

After Lane takes stand, testimony wraps in trial of three ex-MPD officers
Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane took the witness stand in his own defense, describing George Floyd as "handcuffed and out of control" early in the arrest that ended in his death.

Kueng says he saw no 'serious medical need' when Floyd fell unresponsive
J. Alexander Kueng's testimony continued in the federal civil rights trial of the three former officers charged in George Floyd's death.

Kueng felt he 'had no control' with trying to get Floyd in squad
Former Minneapolis police officer J. Alexander Kueng told a federal jury he'd never encountered such a difficult struggle as when he tried to push George Floyd into a squad car on May 25, 2020.

Frey says HCMC doctor failed to follow 'excited delirium' training directive
Leadership for the hospital issued an apology Monday and pledged to review medical contract with police.

MPD teaching controversial 'excited delirium' despite claiming it had stopped
A group of doctors say "excited delirium" syndrome is a diagnosis based on shoddy research. This month, the Police Department and Mayor Jacob Frey's office claimed that the city stopped teaching the concept last year, but a training video suggests otherwise.

Officers 'inconsistent' with medical training when they detained George Floyd, says police trainer
The defense questions whether police are trained to restrain people to save their lives when experiencing "excited delirium."

Civil rights trial against ex-Minneapolis cops postponed by COVID diagnosis
The federal trial was abruptly recessed on Wednesday and is postponed until Monday after one of the officers tested positive for COVID-19.

Defense asks medical examiner about outside pressures during George Floyd death investigation
Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker says the the officers' prolonged restraint killed Floyd and that his office is nonpolitical.

Mpls. police trained to ignore city report on ketamine, testimony says
In the trial of three former officers, training on "excited delirium" is becoming central to their defense argument. But an police inspector said they train officers to ignore a critical report.

MPD culture, training kept rookie officer from intervening in Floyd death, attorney says
Attorney Thomas Plunkett also suggested the department trains an "us vs. them" culture from the academy that would prevent officers from stepping in during an arrest.

Minneapolis police inspector testifies of training protocol in civil rights trial
Katie Blackwell said the training includes medical components.

'I think they killed him:' Off-duty firefighter testifies of futile attempts to help unresponsive George Floyd
Witnesses on scene that day continue to take stand.

Cup Foods clerk tells jurors of events leading to killing
Court began Tuesday with footage of George Floyd's final moments from the perspective of one of the police officers who helped hold him down.

At least one officer will testify in federal trial of 3 ex-cops
Earl Gray, attorney for Thomas Lane, said the former Minneapolis police officer will take the stand in the civil rights trial stemming from the killing of George Floyd.

What you need to know about federal trial this week of 3 ex-officers in George Floyd's death
Opening statements are set to begin Monday.

In light of the Ahmaud Arbery murder, what is Minnesota's citizen's arrest law?
State law allows people to make an arrest in certain situations. But doing so carries many risks.

Federal trial for 3 ex-officers will differ from Chauvin's state trial
Jury selection begins Thursday. Prosecutors face greater challenges in proving guilt.

Prosecutors say barring witnesses in case against former officers deprives them of fair trial
Judge Paul Magnuson asked the attorneys to speed up their cases in the interest of avoiding a COVID-19 outbreak that would upend the trial.

Judge in trial of three former Minneapolis officers worries it could be upended by virus
Judge asked attorneys to hasten the pace, warning of the spread of the virus

Both sides ask for delay in state trial for three former Minneapolis police officers in George Floyd's death
The officers face federal and state trials this year in connection to the killing of George Floyd.

Mpls. closes in on homicide milestone at end of violent year
As 2021 comes to a close, shootings are up by every metric, and the city nears the homicide record set in 1995.

Before Chauvin trial, feds warned of cyberattacks, white supremacist violence
Declassified intelligence briefings show that law enforcement authorities were on high alert.

Twin Cities woman pleads guilty to 'straw purchase' of nearly 100 guns for black-market buyers
Elwood and her fiancé likely face 70 to 87 months in prison for the straw purchase scheme.

Lawsuit: After Mpls. police kicked suspect, officer's father helped clear him of wrongdoing
City attorney says allegations of brutality and conspiracy are vague or without evidence.

Chauvin pleads guilty to civil rights charges in Floyd's killing
The former Minneapolis police officer agreed to a plea deal that recommends he serve 25 years, instead of life, in a federal prison.

Derek Chauvin to change plea in federal civil rights case
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is facing federal charges that he abused his position of power to violate the civil rights of George Floyd. Chauvin is serving a state sentence for the Floyd's murder.

U.S. attorney nominee faces quandary on police probe
Andy Luger has been representing the city of Minneapolis in the Justice Department's pattern and practice investigation into the police.

Civil rights trial for ex-cops in George Floyd killing on track for mid-January
Signaling a grueling selection process to come, a questionnaire asks potential jurors for their views on Black Lives Matter, Minneapolis police and Derek Chauvin's prior conviction.

Former Minneapolis officers should be tried together in federal case, says magistrate judge
The magistrate denied motions from three officers who wanted to be tried separately from Derek Chauvin.
North metro shootings leave two injured; 1 arrested in Brooklyn Park
A shooting in Brooklyn Park on Saturday night left one man with numerous gunshot wounds and a suspect still at large, police say.Officers were called…

Randall Smith ID'd as Minneapolis homicide victim, was entrepreneur and civil rights activist
The manager of All Square restaurant died in a hospital from gunshot wounds last week.

Court: Minneapolis cop who shot service dogs won't be shielded by qualified immunity
An appeals court panel says officer Michael Mays acted unreasonably when he jumped a privacy fence in 2017 and shot two service dogs that greeted him.