Minneapolis police chief breaks off talks with officer union

The Minneapolis Police Department will withdraw from contract negotiations with the union that represents officers to facilitate an overhaul of the force in the wake of George Floyd's death, the department's chief said on Wednesday.Chief Medaria Arradondo, at a media briefing, also said he would implement a new early-warning system to identify police officer conduct, allowing supervisors to intervene more quickly to get problematic officers off the street.

The Minneapolis Police Department will withdraw from contract negotiations with the union that represents officers to facilitate an overhaul of the force in the wake of George Floyd's death, the department's chief said on Wednesday.

Chief Medaria Arradondo, at a media briefing, also said he would implement a new early-warning system to identify police officer conduct, allowing supervisors to intervene more quickly to get problematic officers off the street. The decision to cut off talks with the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis reflected a need to "start anew" and break free from the "antiquated" process of negotiating a union contract, Arradondo said.

"I think that's it's very clear that we have to evolve," said Arradondo. The decision follows two weeks of nationwide protests over the May 25 death of Floyd, an unarmed black man. Derek Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police officer, has been charged with murdering Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly 9 minutes. Three other officers at the scene, including two rookies, were also charged with aiding and abetting in Floyd's death.

The president of the police officers' union, Bob Kroll, said in a letter last week that the four officers "were terminated without due process" and that he was working with the union's labor attorneys to get them reinstated. In response to reporters' questions, Arradondo said the two rookies should also be held responsible for not intervening. (reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut, Editing by Franklin Paul and Bernadette Baum)