Clout of Minneapolis Police Union Boss Reflects National Trend

Robert Kroll fought against independent oversight even as he was hauled before disciplinary bodies and courts for alleged abuse of authority

By Douglas Belkin, Kris Maher and Deanna Paul of The WSJ. Excerpts:

"Former mayors and police chiefs say the immense influence of the unions is a key reason attempts to overhaul policing practices, in Minneapolis and elsewhere, have failed. Many cities, lacking cash to boost police salaries, have handed unions authority over everyday functions of police departments, down to how shifts are assigned and overtime is meted out.

Tony Bouza, who led the Minneapolis police department from 1980 to 1989, described his tenure as “a constant and unremitting battle” with the union. “I was never able to fire the alcoholics, psychos and criminals in the ranks,” he said."

"Mr. Rushin’s study last year of about 650 police union contracts found that a majority of them, including the one in Minneapolis, provided an appeals process that could shield officers from reasonable accountability. (Stephen Rushin, an associate law professor at Loyola University Chicago)"

"The power held by union leaders like Mr. Kroll has grown along with the ranks of police departments and their budgets. The war on drugs and the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, led to large infusions of cash and personnel to law-enforcement agencies. Four out of five police officers in the country belong to a union, and they have used that base to accrue broad political power through campaign donations to lawmakers, endorsements and frequently by playing conservative state legislatures against progressive city councils, say labor historians, union officials and politicians.

Police unions were nonpartisan into the 1980s but began to gravitate toward the GOP about the same time Republicans started turning against other public-sector unions while refraining from attacking law enforcement. As the GOP portrayed itself as the party of law and order, the relationship with police strengthened, said William P. Jones, professor of history at the University of Minnesota."

"For years, the police union in Minneapolis opposed the civilian review board, say people involved in the process. In a court deposition in the Mahaffy case in 2009, Mr. Kroll said the police department and the city council considered the review board “a monkey on their back that they just can’t seem to shed and they can’t figure out.”

In 2012, the police union successfully lobbied state lawmakers to severely weaken the board’s authority by barring it from making a “finding of fact or determination” about an officer’s conduct following a complaint."

"Between 1995 and 2019, the Minneapolis contract between the police union and the city grew to 128 pages from 40. It now includes more protections such as a two-day waiting period before interviewing officers in investigations of misconduct and other matters; mandatory paid leave for officers involved in critical incidents; and erasing misconduct records when complaints don’t lead to disciplinary action. Union leaders say such provisions ensure accused officers receive due process."