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Residents, advocates press oversight commission for chief review and answers on Allison Lussier case
Summary
At the March 3 meeting of the Community Commission on Police Oversight, residents and advocacy groups urged the commission to hold a public performance review of Police Chief Medaria Arradondo O'Hara and to provide a full accounting of the memo and after-action review requests tied to the death of Allison Lussier.
At the March 3 meeting of the Community Commission on Police Oversight (CCPO), community members pressed the commission to hold a public performance review of Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo O'Hara and raised concerns about how the commission and city staff have handled matters tied to the death of Allison Lussier.
Speakers said the commission’s annual review should allow members of the public to comment on the chief’s performance, including hiring choices they described as harmful. Kim Milliard of the Racial Justice Network pointed commissioners to “Minneapolis ordinance chapter 172,” and said the ordinance requires an annual public hearing on police policies, rules and practices and that she expected the hearing to include public comment on the chief’s performance. Billie Jean Van Knight, also with the Racial Justice Network, said, “Chief O'Hara is not reversing or changing the racist culture of MPD. He is perpetrating it,” and tied that claim to recent hires she and others called problematic.
Several speakers urged the CCPO to publicize and deliver a memo the chair sent to City Council, and to press for an after-action review of the Lussier case. Alyssa Washington of the Wrongfully Incarcerated & Oversentenced Families Council — Minnesota said the City Council unanimously approved a separate independent review for Lussier and that the audit committee later delayed action; she and others told commissioners they wanted no delay and no Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) takeover of the investigation.
Chair Latanya Reeves and staff clarified the CCPO’s formal authority. Reeves said the CCPO “does not have purview” to direct City Council action and pointed speakers to the council for steps under the city’s governance. City staff and the chair also reported that the audit committee had appointed a new city auditor, Robert Timmerman, and that the auditor’s office had informed the audit committee and City Council it would conduct special reviews of events related to an October 2024 shooting and the February 2024 death of Allison Lussier.
No formal policy change or new investigation was initiated by the CCPO at the meeting; commissioners who moved to amend the meeting agenda to add an update on the Lussier memo did not secure a second and the motion failed. Commissioners and staff said they will provide existing emails and copies of communications to commissioners and the public where available.
Why it matters: speakers framed these requests as central to public accountability for policing and asked the CCPO to use its platform to press for transparent, timely review procedures following high-profile incidents.
The CCPO took no formal disciplinary or hiring action at the meeting; it heard public comment, received verbal updates from staff, and directed the clerk to receive and file certain reports.
