On March 15, Minneapolis’s Ethical Practice Board dismissed all ethical complaints alleged against Mayor Jacob Frey leaving residents who filed them confused.

The Ethical Practices Board authorized Susan Trammell, the ethics officer, to dismiss further complaints against Frey that concern the same issues, according to an email shared with the Minnesota Daily.

“Thus no future complaints about the Amir Locke no knock warrant situation will come before the Board,” Trammell said in an email to Frey that was later shared with the Minnesota Daily.

A group of Minneapolis residents gathered at Minneapolis City Hall and filed the complaints against Frey on Feb. 11 in response to the killing of Amir Locke by a Minneapolis police officer. Over 1,200 complaints were filed against the mayor. The complaints alleged that the mayor misused funds and failed to further the best interests of the city.

The complaints were dismissed without an investigation, and the group that brought the complaints against the mayor is calling for accountability and transparency.

When asked why the complaints were dismissed, city of Minneapolis Media Relations Coordinator Sarah McKenzie cited bylaw 7.6 written in the rules of procedure for the Ethical Practices Board. It states the ethics officer is allowed to dismiss multiple similar complaints or complaints that are not worthy of an investigation. Trammell did not give additional information to the Daily or to people who filed the complaints.

Elianna Lippold-Johnson is the spokesperson for The Residents Complaint, the group of residents that filed the complaints against the mayor.

She said the group wanted to gain clarity through an investigation, but she said she thinks that the board’s dismissal of the complaints and the mayor’s response demonstrates Minneapolis administration’s dismissive attitude toward residents. Lippold-Johnson also said she thinks that the ethics board is shielding the mayor from accountability.

“We will continue to work to hold the mayor accountable,” Lippold-Johnson said. “We really think that until we have accountability, the mistrust between Minneapolis residents and the city is just going to continue to grow.”

In response to the complaints being dismissed, Frey said in a press release that the board’s decision was welcomed but unsurprising.

“This stunt was always more about politics than it was about ethics, as was shown in this decision,” Frey said in a press release. “Fixing the real shortcomings in our public safety system is not advanced by performative measures.”

When complaints are filed, the ethics officer looks into them and determines whether or not to dismiss the claims. If the officer dismisses them, the board will either agree with the officer and dismiss the claims or disagree and begin an investigation. Since the board and the ethics officer decided to dismiss the claims, Frey’s complaints will not be investigated.

Lippold-Johnson said the group is now contacting representatives at the state and city level to get accountability.

“[We are] asking where we are supposed to get accountability. Right now we’re not getting a lot of answers,” Lippold-Johnson said.