Minneapolis will charge fees to businesses that hire police for security

The city of Minneapolis will eventually charge fees to businesses when they hire off-duty police officers to do security work.

The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously Thursday to add the new fees next year, although the city doesn’t have the technology to begin charging the fees until later, likely 2027. The measure now goes to Mayor Jacob Frey, whose spokesperson said “he will not veto it” despite some concerns.

In January, the council approved an ordinance allowing the city to charge fees to private businesses when police officers do security work. The action Thursday sets those fees at $27.58 per hour with a vehicle and $6.99 an hour without.

The measure approved Thursday is estimated to bring in about $1.4 million annually to the city.

The goal is to recoup some of the costs to taxpayers because the officers use police squad cars, uniforms, weapons and other city supplies. The officers are also covered by the city’s liability insurance while working side gigs, although the companies pay their wages.

When they’re not on the clock for the city, police officers can provide security for private businesses such as bars, clubs, sports teams and construction sites. The side gigs can be lucrative, paying up to hundreds of dollars per hour, often in cash, according to a 2019 city audit.

The legislation was shepherded by Council Member Robin Wonsley, who said the fees are needed at a time when MPD is understaffed, overtime at record levels last year, and the city is “financially stressed.”

The DOJ’s critique came during a review of the department’s practices following the 2020 murder of George Floyd.

Council Member Linea Palmisano supported Wonsley’s measure, but noted that police don’t yet have the necessary software to charge the fees. It’s not clear which city department will collect the fees, she said.

Frey’s spokesperson expressed a similar concern, releasing a statement saying that while the administration supports the idea, the fee can’t be charged next year because it has no way of collecting it until 2027.

“Once again, some Council Members are manufacturing conflict where none exists and intentionally misleading residents,” the statement said.

Off-duty work came under scrutiny in 2017 when former MPD officer Mohamed Noor worked seven hours moonlighting as a security guard before a 10-hour police shift on the night he shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who called police to report a possible assault in the alley behind her house.

Chauvin pleaded guilty to two counts of tax evasion in 2023 for underreporting his income from security work from 2014 to 2019 at El Nuevo Rodeo dance club, Cub Foods, Midtown Global Market and EME Antro bar. Investigators said he was often paid cash and failed to report nearly $96,000 in income from El Nuevo Rodeo alone.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has said the off-duty system is rife with potential for corruption and has said he’s started tracking off-duty work.

Earlier this week, a council committee also questioned whether the city should pay a parking management company nearly a million dollars to hire Minneapolis police to help secure parking garages and direct traffic around them during events.

The issue came up Tuesday as a committee was considering a $182 million, five-year contract with ABM Parking Services Inc., to manage the city’s 15 parking ramps and eight surface lots. The contract includes $8.2 million in security for parking ramps, skyways and an impound lot. Most of that goes to private security companies, but $900,000 would go to off-duty MPD cops who primarily work the biggest ramps during events.

Allan Klugman, director of traffic and parking services for the city, told the committee the police officers were vital in supplementing the private security, especially for traffic control. But he said the city can explore whether it can use other workers. He also noted the money to pay for them comes from parking revenue.