Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 408 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JUNE 2016 Anti-cop activists want to make police officers carry their own insurance policy T he public safety landscape is gen- erally described in law enforce- ment culture in apocalyptic terms. You frequently hear about food being forcefully re- moved from the mouths of babies during contract talks or yet another “perfect storm” of some type or an- other. Generally speaking though, the “sky is fall- ing” lamentations from the men and women of public safety have to do with things like California’s Proposi- tion 47 or use of force policy changes. Rarely is it used to describe things like insurance. But that could radi- cally change going for- ward. A group called the Committee for Pro- fessional Policing is pushing a proposal that would force indi- vidual police officers to carry their own private insurance, like doctors or plumbers. The group is upset that taxpayers are on the hook for payouts in lawsuits related to police. In Minneapolis, payouts to settle lawsuits against po- lice officers have exceeded $11.8 million since 2010. “It’s going to make Minne- apolis a safer place to live because peo- ple are not go- ing to have to interact with officers who aren’t held ac- countable to their actions, and they act knowing that,” said Cole Yates, the spokes- man for the Committee for Professional Policing. The group has had some setbacks. The first time they tried to collect signatures to get the issue on the radar they managed to get 3,000 people to sign. But then the group’s of- fices in the Walker Church burned down in an unex- plained fire. Now, three years later, the Committee for Professional Policing is still at it. It took three years but they finally got the 7,000 signatures required to put the question before voters on the November ballot. The city still has to deter- mine whether it meets state law. The group says the idea is that when a private insurer sees an officer with lots of complaints and at the center of multiple lawsuits, the in- surer would refuse to cover that cop. And if you know any- thing about the almost all- volunteer force in Oakley, Michigan – an uninsured cop is about as useful as a paperweight. “There are a lot of com- plaints that are unfounded and the officer is not in the wrong, I will grant that,” Yates told reporters with City Pages. “This is really in- tended for a small handful of rogue officers. An insurance provider will look at an of- ficer with a lot of complaints and say there’s no way we’re going to insure a guy like that, a man with that kind of record.” Lt. Bob Kroll, president of the Police Officers Fed- eration of Minneapolis, isn’t worried at all. “This group is so naïve. Our labor contract provides that the city will insure us,” he says. “They can get all the signatures they need to get on the ballot, they can have every American sign for it, and it’s not going to change our labor agreement.” The city can try to renego- tiate the contract, but Kroll promises it won’t happen as long as he’s running the union. “This group is so naïve. Our labor contract provides that the city will insure us. They can get all the signa- tures they need to get on the ballot, they can have every American sign for it, and it’s not going to change our labor agreement.” – Lt. Bob Kroll, President, Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis He says this is just more war on cops stuff. “The way things are go- ing in Minneapolis, what if they made it illegal to be police? That would be the next thing,” Kroll says. “What if they made it ille- gal for police to ever get a raise? What if they made it illegal for the police of- ficers to carry guns? All this is crazy stuff to begin with. It’s really nut- job crazy stuff to even con- sider.” Whether or not the bean counters at city hall feel the same way is an open ques- tion. “This is really intended for a small handful of rogue officers. An insurance provider will look at an officer with a lot of complaints and say there’s no way we’re going to insure a guy like that, a man with that kind of record.” There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman? – Woody Allen