No. It's a local "standards" issue. They flunk the interview because, after half an hour, a majority of the panel doesn't want them in our city. IIRC, most often for being too aggressive.

Well, perhaps they could be similarly interviewed by the state before being POST-certified, and flunked there, stopping them from applying to MPD in the first place. Perhaps there should be a state panel for this very purpose.

there is a state panel, it's the POST board. after meeting the education and skills requirements there are interviews and psych evals. if you pass everything you become POST eligible. once eligilbe you can apply to departments, you become certified once you begin employment. each department has it's own hiring and interview process though. just because you are POST elibigle doesn't mean you'll get a job at a department though.

it would be nice if they could come up with such a system, but they would have to use the most stringent of standards, excluding many good candidates. the standards at some departments are erroniously high, so much so that one 10 year old speeding ticket could knock you out of contention.

D

At least, under the prior chiefs & when I was on the CS Commission, Roseville wanted service-oriented cops not Rambos. Minneapolis PD wanted just the opposite. After a couple of boring years on a suburban department, lots of young male officers "move up" to Mpls for the "action."

I suppose that is why the Roseville SWAT team looks like bozo in full field gear (they should hire St. Paul SWAT for the 1 instance a year when Roseville NEEDS a SWAT team). What a waste of money to give 6 guys a "stiffy" now and again.

I hear yah, Joe. What concrete actions ought we do in Minnesota, to begin police reform?

Easy: start by making fun of the NAACP for buying into the consent decree, so, perhaps, they won't get snookered again.

More info on the 2 officers charged.

Scott Donald Mars dob 12-24-73
William David Thornbury dob 3-7-80

They are charged by Dakota county, due to possible conflict, with 2 felonies, Intentional Discharge, and Reckless in a Municipality, and one mis, CUI.

They are having their Omnibus hearing 8-22.

Anyone want to write some Community Impact Statements? Anybody able to go to the hearing?

Follow-up:

http://wcco.com/local/police.officers.f ... 57336.html

Cops Charged With Shooting Guns Near Party Fired
Reporting
Caroline Lowe
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ― Two Minneapolis police officers charged with firing their guns outside of a party last May have been fired.

According to Chief Tim Dolan, officers Scott Mars, 34, and William Thornbury, 28, are no longer with the Minneapolis Police Department.

According to a criminal complaint, Mars and Thornbury fired their guns outside of a party in South Minneapolis on May 28 while they were off duty. That party was being hosted by a third Minneapolis police officer.

The charges state that a neighbor had asked members of the party to quiet down earlier that evening. Later, Mars and Thornbury allegedly pulled up to the neighbor's house, yelled profanities and fired several gunshots into the air through the SUV's sunroof.

Police were contacted and officers pulled Mars and Thornbury's vehicle over. They found two guns and spent shell casings inside.

Mars and Thornbury were charged two felony charges each, and Mars, the driver of the Tahoe, also faces a drunken driving charge. His blood alcohol level was 0.19 -- more than twice the legal limit.

The two have plead guilty!

http://www.startribune.com/local/36401699.html

2 ex-Minneapolis cops plead guilty to firing guns


Two former Minneapolis police officers pleaded guilty Thursday to recklessly discharging their guns from a vehicle after leaving a party in Minneapolis this spring.

Scott Mars, 34, and William Thornbury, 28, who were on the force but were off duty when the incident occurred in May, were fired in October. It's expected they will lose their peace-officer licenses.

The felony criminal charges were filed in June by the Dakota County attorney's office to avoid a conflict of interest.

The incident began when other officers were dispatched to the 4200 block of Wentworth Avenue S. after receiving a 911 call from Ty Reed about shots being fired. Earlier, Reed had told people near his house that their party was getting too loud. The people apologized and returned to the party.

Minutes later, a man driving a sport-utility vehicle pulled up in front of Reed's house, swore and fired several shots. As the SUV sped off, more shots were fired from it.

When officers stopped the SUV about 12:30 a.m., they found Mars and Thornbury inside. Mars admitted to being at the party and to firing his gun out the SUV's sunroof.

Mars, who had a blood-alcohol level of .19, was cited for misdemeanor driving while impaired. Thornbury had a blood-alcohol level of .074, just below the legal limit for driving of .08.

The county attorney dropped a misdemeanor charge of carrying a gun while under the influence.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 29.

DAVID CHANEN

Bummer. Who thinks that would be dropped for a non-cop?

You know I'm happy that they have felony hits, have been stripped of their POSTs, and fired. That's enough to call it a win. They have the rest of their lives to think of what else to do, and what they should have done.

They would almost always drop the underlying misdemeanor for a felony plea. It would have no meaning.

But what may be egregeous is if the DUI was also dropped as the story seems to indicate. That would not usually happen.

A DUI record always significant, because those are the folks we need to get off the road and we need that record to do it. And normally that charge does NOT get dropped. This guy was a .19. That's a problem.

The Mad Moms should be concerned about it.

But it would be nice to see at least one conviction in Minnesota for an actual policeman carrying drunk. I bet it's never happened.

Fair enough. Alas, I don't think this will do anything to fix the MPD, but you can't have everything.

I guess I'll post this since Chunk is probably still reeling around in a beef-induced fog: