October 13, 2020
Today, the Senate Republicans published their Review of Lawlessness and Government Responses to Minnesota’s 2020 Riots report based on the hearings that they held over the summer on the civil unrest in the state.
The report was given to the members of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee and the Transportation Committee just one hour to review before the Senate Republicans released it to the public.
Senator Ron Latz (DFL-Saint Louis Park), Senate DFL lead on the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, and Senator Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis), Senate DFL lead on the Transportation Committee, released the following statement in response:
“As the DFL leads for these committees, we should have been given longer than an hour to review this 50-page report before it was published to the public. Once again, the Senate majority’s lack of transparency and gross miscalculation of the moment is astounding.
“It’s disappointing that once again, the other side isn’t willing to hold fair hearings by listening to all parties involved in an issue. They completely failed to acknowledge what caused the unrest in the first place, the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers. They fail to face the issues of structural racism, racial injustice, and lack of police accountability reforms in the Senate.
“The one-sided hearings and the resulting report showcases how naïve and out of touch the Senate Republicans are with the root causes of the unrest. While we condemn the violence, we cannot solve this problem without first acknowledging that racism and unfair treatment exists toward communities of color, and then addressing those issues head-on.
“Instead of conducting hearings with broad public and committee member input, the entire hearing and committee process was limited and far from objective. Given their bias, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the report and its conclusions were written before any meetings were held. We should have been able to come together to hear all sides so we can work to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone in our state whether they urban, suburban, or rural – no exceptions. We will all be safer when we put justice, fairness, and redemption first for everyone.”