The Minneapolis Audit Committee said the Minneapolis Police Department is not following up on audit investigations or attending meetings about off-duty work and high-profile cases such as Davis Moturi and Mariah Samuels as of Oct. 20.

The audit committee reviews the city’s internal investigations and ensures that city departments comply with the law. Off-duty officers can contract with different businesses with approval from MPD supervisors. 

A 2019 audit investigation found a lack of approval procedures for off-duty MPD hours and an overall lack of oversight. According to the presentation, some officers were not approved on time, and squad cars were tracked through a paper system. 

​Police can work multiple jobs, such as at bars or security for businesses, outside their hours, with approval, and wear their uniform and use marked cars at these jobs. Officers can earn up to $175 per hour while working side gigs, reported MPR.

​At the meeting, city auditor Robert Timmerman said the MPD is not responding to updates and meetings for the Audit Committee.

The MPD was supposed to be at the meeting on Oct. 20, but no one showed up.

Timmerman said the police said they could not attend because of a previously scheduled meeting. He added that the committee learned about this an hour before the meeting.

“The frustration is that our community safety auditor has reached out to them a dozen times, either through emails, meeting invitations, actual meetings, actual IMs, so there has been significant time spent on this to no avail,” Timmerman said.

These investigations come after the Minneapolis City Council discussed an ordinance to charge fees to businesses that hire police for security work, the Star Tribune reported.

Police have been under fire from the city council and activist groups since last year for the case of Davis Moturi, according to the Minnesota Daily.

At the meeting, Council President Elliott Payne (Ward 1) said the lack of attention from the MPD was alarming.  ​

“It’s really highlighting not just the need for the MPD to follow the rules of the charter, it also highlights the need for an audit committee to have the resources necessary to provide necessary oversight,” Payne said.

​The letter requested the MPD appear at the next Audit Committee meeting on Dec. 8.​

In response, the Office of Community Safety Director Toddrick Barnette said the Audit Committee acted prematurely in issuing a letter.

​“Presenting the results of MPD’s internal review to the City Council would be premature and could give the impression that we are interfering with the independent process of the Auditor’s After Action Report, which is still ongoing and has yet to be completed and presented,”  Barnette said.​

Off-duty work hours were investigated in 2019 and came to light again when the federal consent decree was issued in 2020.

​MPD Spokesperson Sgt. Garrett Parten said the MPD has implemented an Inspections Unit in spring 2024, in response to the investigation. The unit monitors off-duty work hours and makes sure all off-duty requests are completed. 

The Audit Committee wanted to get data on the progress of the new unit.

​Michelle Gross, the president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said she is disappointed by the lack of response from the MPD to the Audit Committee.

​“The MPD feels that they are immune to answering to anyone,” Gross said. “They’re not accountable to the community. It’s not surprising to me at all.”

While the MPD improved its oversight on work fees, Gross said there should be penalties for when the MPD does not respond to the committee.

​“These are all things that the police department should welcome the opportunity to participate in. They should want to have accountability for off-duty work. They should want to have accountability for when something goes wrong. No agency is ever perfect,” Gross said.