A Hennepin County judge on Wednesday ruled that Minneapolis’ longstanding practice of coaching, a form of one-on-one mentoring to address police policy infractions, does not constitute formal discipline — meaning city officials are entitled to shield such misconduct records from public scrutiny.
The decision marks a significant blow to the nonprofit Minnesota Coalition On Government Information (MNCOGI), a watchdog group that waged a three-year legal battle to expose how the Minneapolis Police Department used the secretive coaching process.
In her 51-page order, Judge Karen Janisch waved off internal city documents, including letters addressed to police officers explicitly referring to coaching as a type of “discipline,” as simply “clumsy and imprecise” language that failed to undermine their established intent. She agreed with the city’s assessment that coaching was a “performance management device” meant to correct minor violations.
“The undisputed facts in the record establish that coaching is not imposed by the City as a form of disciplinary action intended to penalize or punish employees and this is a part of a mutual understanding between the City and officers as established through the parties respective rights and obligations under [Public Employee Labor Relations Act] PELRA and collective bargaining,” Janisch wrote in her summary judgement.
“Because the imposing of coaching is not a disciplinary action, documents related to coaching are private personnel data and not a final disciplinary action under [Minnesota statute.]”

That decision largely dismisses a protracted civil case that fought to make such police misconduct records public. MNCOGI may still pursue trial on remaining allegations that Minneapolis violated state data laws by withholding particular nonpersonnel records.
In a statement, City Attorney Kristyn Anderson lauded the ruling as validation that Minneapolis rightly interpreted the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.
“This was the correct legal conclusion, and government employees and employers across the state will benefit from the clarity provided by the court’s opinion on how personnel data is handled,” she told the Minnesota Star Tribune.