By Rich Larson, News Director
Last week, as the state legislature was making budget talks the top priority, the shooting of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center became a topic that
many House Democrats, including Representative Todd Lippert, could not ignore.
Lippert said that the House Democratic Caucus is focused on racial equity across education, health care, government and public safety. And, he said, in the wake of another senseless tragedy there will be specific measures introduced in the coming weeks.
The first, he said, will be a bill limiting the reasons for traffic stops.
“Daunte Wright was pulled over because of expired tabs and an air freshener hanging in his window. This isn’t a sufficient bar for pulling someone over and there are concerns about that being connected to racial profiling, so we’re going to say that low level offenses like that, and others, are not enough for a police officer to pull someone over.”
Another measure will allow municipalities to establish Citizen Police Oversight Councils in an effort to create more conversation between the public and the police. Lippert said lines of communication need to be stronger to talk about what’s happening in the community, for both the public and the police to voice concerns, and for the public to have input on what public safety should look like.
He also said he is going to support a measure brought by Representative Cedrick Frazier of New Hope that will ban law enforcement officers from having an affiliation with white supremacist groups. “If you are a part of one of those groups,” he said, “you will be dismissed.”
“Minnesota is grieving as a state right now,” he said. “People deserve to feel safe in their communities and their neighborhoods. We are going to work to create that sort of reality.”
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Representative Todd Lippert can be heard here
High School students plan protest
Meanwhile, a statewide student walkout is planned for this afternoon in protest of the shooting of Daunte Wright, and the Black Student Union of Northfield High School is encouraging students to participate.
A series of posts on the Black Student Union Instagram page showed that the walkout is scheduled for 12:20 this afternoon at the front entrance of Northfield High School and will last for 32 minutes. Student speakers will make remarks, and a moment of silence will be observed for Wright.
Superintendent of Northfield Public Schools Dr. Matt Hillmann said that, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, the students are well within their first amendment rights to stage a walkout, as long as the event does not disrupt school for others who do not participate. Hillmann said in the past student organizations have notified school administration ahead of time about something like this, and the proper people have been able to advise on how to best proceed with the event.
Hillmann was also quick to point out that neither the school nor the district is sponsoring or endorsing the walkout. He said that the school does have an attendance policy, and missing class for an event like this is considered an unexcused absence.
Asked if a parent wishes to allow their student to participate and requests for them to be excused, Dr. Hillmann said the school does not make it a policy to question a parent’s request to excuse their student.
Council meeting set for tomorrow night
The Northfield City Council will convene tomorrow night online for a regular council meeting beginning at 6 pm. 
Among the items on the agenda is a presentation of the Housing study completed earlier this year by the Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Northfield’s housing shortage has been a topic of serious conversation lately, and the study will detail the issues the city is facing. Another item will be discussion of the Bluff View Development and the utility improvements that will be required for that project. There will also be discussion of the Values Statement presented to the council last week during the strategic planning session. And prior to the meeting, the council will meet to evaluate the job performance of City Administrator Ben Martig. The results of that conversation will be discussed during the regular meeting.
In all government matters, the city is always encouraging public input. The best way to register a comment or an opinion is through the eComment button on the City Council page within the city’s website. That page can be found by clicking here.
