A Minneapolis police lieutenant who was positioned on paid go away for greater than a yr for forwarding a racist electronic mail has been promoted to steer the division’s murder unit, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
The promotion of 25-year veteran Aimee Linson angered police reform advocates who questioned whether or not division leaders had been severe about altering the tradition within the metropolis the place George Floyd was murdered by former Officer Derek Chauvin in 2020.
“Town — and MPD particularly — isn’t in truth dedicated to the change that they declare to be embracing,” stated Kimberly Milliard, of the Racial Justice Community. “They’ve received consent decrees hanging over their heads they usually’re nonetheless doing the identical stuff that created the necessity for the consent decrees within the first place.”
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When questioned concerning the racist electronic mail, Linson stated she didn’t keep in mind sending it. (Fox Information)
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Division leaders chosen Linson to switch Lt. Richard Zimmerman, the division’s longtime head of murder who was a key witness in Chauvin’s homicide trial. Zimmerman was promoted Sunday to commander. In a newly created position, he’ll work as a neighborhood liaison and mentor youthful investigators at crime scenes.
The personnel modifications had been introduced in an inside electronic mail this week.
Linson was a sergeant in 2012 when she forwarded an electronic mail chain as soon as to colleagues with the topic line, “Solely within the Ghetto,” investigators discovered. The Star Tribune reported that seven of the 16 photos within the message negatively portrayed Black folks.
The e-mail wasn’t uncovered till a Minnesota Division of Human Rights investigation in 2021. The investigation culminated with a 72-page report outlining a sample and apply of discriminatory policing in Minneapolis. The report helped result in a settlement settlement with the state to implement sweeping reforms. A separate consent decree with the U.S. Division of Justice isn’t but finalized.
Interim Chief Amelia Huffman suspended Linson in March 2022, as an investigation proceeded. She remained on paid go away till Chief Brian O’Hara resolved the case with a written reprimand in April. The self-discipline adopted a unanimous ruling by a police conduct evaluation panel, which discovered that the allegations towards Linson had benefit.
O’Hara’s reprimand acknowledged that Linson “failed to fulfill our requirements when she despatched an electronic mail that contained content material that was offensive primarily based on race and/or socioeconomic standing. The violation on this matter undermines public belief.”
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Below questioning from Inside Affairs, Linson stated she didn’t keep in mind sending the e-mail.
O’Hara defended the promotion by highlighting Linson’s expertise main each the Disaster Negotiations and Capturing Response groups.
“Of the Lieutenants at the moment out there to supervise Murder, Lt. Aimee Linson is essentially the most certified,” O’Hara stated in an announcement to the Star Tribune on Wednesday. “Along with her skill to work together with people within the preliminary moments of grief after a murder, she understands complicated investigative processes and is properly suited to offer management for these liable for the essential position of murder investigations.”
O’Hara stated he discovered no proof suggesting that Linson ever once more engaged in related habits, and stated she was remorseful for forwarding the racist electronic mail.
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