MPD outlines Homeland Security task-force partnerships; council seeks MOUs and deputization safeguards

Commander Chris Brown presented July 22 on Minneapolis Police Department participation in Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTFs) and related federal partnerships. He said MPD maintains 25 signed agreements historically, of which roughly 10 received City Council approval where reimbursement obligations required it. He referenced a January 23, 2026 memorandum of understanding (MOU) governing a recent HSTF collaboration and noted that the full text was available in the department’s LMS file.

Brown explained that Minneapolis task-force officers do not report to federal supervisors; they remain under MPD’s chain of command and must follow city ordinances and MPD policy while assigned to federal investigations. He described deputization as a federal administrative mechanism that gives local officers authority to execute federal warrants in some areas (firearms, drugs, customs) and said it is limited by the specific federal title and MOU language. He also described several indictments and enforcement results released in a June 30 Department of Justice press release tied to coordinated investigations, including an alleged seizure and indictment series that the release said involved attempts to traffic fentanyl quantities described in the press release as equivalent to hundreds of thousands of deadly doses.

Council members requested the underlying agreement documents, asked what internal MPD protocols exist when an officer is deputized, and raised concerns about separation-of-duties protections and potential community fear when local officers assume federal authorities. Chair Chavez cited national examples of task-force-related separation breaches and asked MPD to return with MOUs, deputization protocols, and documentation of oversight and compliance mechanisms for public review.