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Police association requests apology from UMN student following release of UMPD footage

The request came after UMPD dashcam footage called into question portions of a student’s account.
A+screenshot+from+UMPD+vehicle+footage+on+Monday%2C+Feb.+1.
A screenshot from UMPD vehicle footage on Monday, Feb. 1.

Two Minnesota law enforcement agencies requested on Tuesday that a University of Minnesota student apologize for posting “false statements and fabrications” after alleging racial profiling by the University of Minnesota Police Department, as initially reported by the Star Tribune.

The requests, made by Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) and Law Enforcement Labor Services, came after UMPD released dashcam footage of a Feb. 1 incident that showed officers stopping a student who appeared to match the description of a suspect in a robbery that occurred earlier in the night.

According to the student, at least two officers approached him with their “hands on their guns,” questioned him and made him feel uncomfortable and concerned for his safety. The student, who is a person of color, said he thought officers approached him because of his race. He does not wish to be identified due to fear of harassment.

“The only thing I could think of was: what did I do wrong other than the fact I was a brown man,” the student wrote on Instagram.

Following the student’s initial posts and accusations, UMPD released the dashcam footage. It is the first video that publicly appears on the University’s Department of Public Safety YouTube account, which was created on Feb. 3.

The UMPD footage indicates that two officers approached the student, who in turn offered to show them his student identification. The officers explained to the student that a robbery occurred in the area before reentering the car, apologizing and leaving the scene.

After coming forward, the student has since been the target of intense public criticism and backlash — including some threats — over mischaracterization of his interactions with the police.

On Feb. 7, the student publicly apologized on Instagram saying that although he described feeling genuine fear, he recognized the impact his story had on undermining experiences of police brutality in Black and Latinx communities.

The MPPOA and LELS, the two largest labor associations in the state to represent public safety officials and law enforcement personnel respectively, also asked that the student discontinue an email campaign to the Board of Regents and President Joan Gabel that recounted his experience and included a list of demands.

“No amount of training, community engagement or empty reforms will ever allow for students to feel safe while the UMPD patrols our campus,” the email reads.

Release of the video footage has prompted discussions among campus activists, as well. After a social media campaign, the University’s Students for a Democratic Society chapter later apologized for falsely comparing the student’s experience to the “police terror and brutality that is systemically inflicted on Black communities.”

“It is imperative that we believe individuals who come forward in the future, despite how the situation unfolded,” SDS stated on Instagram.

This is a breaking news report. More information may be added as it becomes available.

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  • Kevin Nelson
    Feb 24, 2021 at 10:59 am

  • Kevin Nelson
    Feb 24, 2021 at 9:47 am

  • Richard Turnbull
    Feb 22, 2021 at 11:47 am

    Most claims by ignorant people about hate crimes and racial profiling are presented without evidence and may be dismissed without evidence.

  • Kevin Nelson
    Feb 22, 2021 at 10:46 am

    Most claims of hate crimes and racial profiling are hoaxes.

  • A Gopher
    Feb 15, 2021 at 9:33 am

    You might’ve missed the student’s Instagram post. He clearly indicates that he was targeted solely based on race and then states the officers had their hands on their pistols (they didn’t, there’s a video). So if there is anyone showing hysterical hyperbole it is the student, who despite such fictional claims will face no penalty whatsoever!

  • Richard Turnbull
    Feb 15, 2021 at 9:39 am

    Even if all these allegations are correct he is ONE GUY, not a wave of fake claims.
    ROTFLMAO

  • Richard Turnbull
    Feb 14, 2021 at 1:57 am

    Even this example does not contain a student claiming that “all officers are racist killers,” you need to calm down and notice the difference between what he did claim and your hysterical hyperbole.

  • youmayberight
    Feb 12, 2021 at 9:36 am

    Does this student still hold a leadership position within the Minnesota Student Association?

  • A Gopher
    Feb 10, 2021 at 2:21 pm

    Did you even read the article? This issue is about lying woke joke students who want to score pity points by painting all officers as racist killers. UMPD has been stellar and since students are always canceling people for the slightest offense this student needs to be cancelled too!

  • James Wilson
    Feb 10, 2021 at 11:42 am

    Police need to stop backing up bad officers. It only makes the good officers look bad. The courts need stiffer penalties for offenders who lie on police reports.