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Record of Proceedings

Police Policy Oversight Commission Meeting - September 10, 2026: Proposed Rule Changes and Public Concerns

Boards and Commissions — Thursday, September 10, 2026
BodyRochester, Minnesota
SessionBoards and Commissions
DateThursday, September 10, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 59:34

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:03

Welcome to this quarter's meeting of police policy oversight collection.

0:08

October 8, 2026, 3:30.

0:11

Thank you all for being here.

0:12

We'll start with order and roll call.

0:16

Would you mind calling off members of the commission?

0:20

Commissioner Friedley.

0:23

Commissioner Wheeler.

0:25

Commissioner Parker.

0:29

Commissioner Parker's not here.

0:31

Commissioner Snyder.

0:34

Commissioner Patel.

0:35

Here.

0:36

Commissioner Carol Fisher.

0:39

Not here.

0:40

Commissioner Nur.

0:42

Yeah.

0:45

All right, second order of second item order is approval of the last minutes on the June 9th, 2026 meeting.

0:57

Second on the floor, any discussion for those meeting minutes.

1:00

None.

1:01

All in favor, say aye.

1:03

All co, same sign.

1:06

Approved.

1:08

We'll be adopting today's agenda.

1:13

To adopt the agenda today.

1:15

A discussion of today is a better.

1:20

All right, saying none.

1:21

All in favor, say aye.

1:22

All right.

1:22

All those same time.

1:25

Today's agenda is passed.

1:27

They're now a 15-minute public comment period.

1:30

Are there members of the public who would like to speak today?

1:36

I'll start with the gentleman over here.

1:38

Would you mind introducing yourself for the record and letting us know what you'd like to talk about?

1:42

Do you need to stand up with this?

1:44

Jordan Phillips, former commissioner of a police oversight committee, uh business owner in the community.

1:53

I guess I'm a little out of it.

1:56

I didn't get everything in because I've been moving around, but I hear that there is a possible motion to remove uh NAACP from what have you.

2:10

I guess I'd like to have an explanation of what that is.

2:15

Um what do you think that would be on the table?

2:20

Okay, I appreciate it.

2:23

Thank you.

2:25

Uh no, I think you should go for something.

2:27

Yeah, uh, so uh good afternoon, everyone.

2:29

Uh name is Dr.

2:30

Wally Ali Bene, president of the Rochester Grant at NAACP.

2:35

So uh I come here with just uh great concern, you know.

2:39

Um Mr.

2:40

Phillips talked about you know uh some of those concerns in terms of the proposed changes about YCP not having a seat, as well as uh the uh the uh the ability for uh uh complaints.

2:55

Uh now uh my assumption is many of you may not understand the history of the NAACP and the formation of the people of this commission.

3:05

Uh basically uh you know our role was not just by happenstance, you know, we were uh foundational in terms of the creation of this commission.

3:16

Uh when you think about civil rights in Rochester, uh we are the only civil rights organization in Rochester.

3:22

Uh we've been here for over 60 years.

3:24

We're the oldest civil rights organization uh in the nation and the largest.

3:29

And when you think about you know the conditions that actually caused uh police oversight to be created, those conditions still still exist.

3:37

We still have uh uh discipline uh still have like uh police use of force data.

3:43

If you look at the police's own data, those shows that we still have uh challenges and you know across racial lines, so that's the police's own data.

3:52

Uh and when you think about how do we ensure that we represent all of our community members, uh uh you need uh an organization like the end of YCP.

4:01

So without the end of YCP, this commission would not have been existence.

4:06

We spent over 18 months, you know, uh early on.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Comment█████████████████████████████████████37%
Board and Commission Operations█████████████████████████25%
Racial Equity█████████████13%
Procedural█████████9%
Public Safety███████7%
Legal And Contractual Matters█████5%
Community Engagement████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Police Policy Oversight Commission Meeting - September 10, 2026

The Police Policy Oversight Commission met on September 10, 2026, to discuss proposed changes to its rules and regulations, particularly the removal of the NAACP-designated seat and the incident review process. Three NAACP representatives spoke in opposition during public comment, emphasizing the organization's historical role in forming the commission and ongoing racial disparities. The commission held a lengthy discussion but took no final action, voting to continue the discussion to the next meeting in December.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Joe Phillips, former commissioner, expressed concern about a possible motion to remove the NAACP from the commission and requested an explanation.
  • Dr. Wale Elegbede, president of the Rochester branch of the NAACP, stated the NAACP was foundational in creating the commission over 18 months of advocacy and warned that proposed changes (removing the NAACP seat and complaint review process) would be a disservice. He urged no decisions until the commission receives additional background information.
  • Jill Leet-Otley, NAACP chair, argued against removing the designated NAACP seat, citing that other organizations could request their own seats rather than take the NAACP seat away. She also opposed removing language about appointing people based on social justice involvement and eliminating the incident review process, noting ongoing racial disparities in police use of force (e.g., firearms: 52% Black/African American vs 35% white; canine: 69.7% Black/African American vs 27% white). She requested the seat remain and the incident review process be preserved.

Discussion Items

  • Rules and Regulations (Old Business): The commission reviewed several proposed changes to the ordinance, including:
    • Removing the designated NAACP seat (Section 213.1) and making all seven seats open.
    • Adding disqualifiers for felony convictions (debated with differing opinions on inclusion of all felonies vs. types).
    • Standardizing rulemaking language (Section 213.3) to align with other city commissions.
    • Eliminating the incident review process (Section 213.2a) due to conflict with state law.
    • Adding a requirement for an annual presentation from the Police Department's Professional Standards Manager.
  • Commissioners expressed varied opinions: Some supported opening seats to allow other marginalized groups; others argued the NAACP's seat was important and could be expanded. The felony disqualification proposal was contentious, with some arguing it should not be added or should distinguish types. The incident review change was seen as altering the commission's foundational purpose.

Key Outcomes

  • Motion to Continue: Commissioner Phil Wheeler moved, seconded by Omar Nur, to continue the rules and regulations discussion to the next meeting. Approved unanimously (6-0, with Kauth-Fisher absent). The meeting scheduled for December will include further deliberation.
  • No formal votes were taken on any proposed changes, following Deputy City Attorney Grant Carlson's recommendation to not make decisions at this meeting and to publish the proposed changes for public input.
  • The commission approved the June 9, 2026 minutes and adopted the agenda (both unanimous with 5-0 votes, Parker and Kauth-Fisher absent for those items). Note: Linda Parker arrived later and participated in the motion to continue and adjournment.

Note: Date discrepancy – Agenda lists September 8, 2026; transcript states October 8, 2026. The instruction directs to use September 10, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Welcome to this quarter's meeting of police policy oversight collection. October 8, 2026, 3:30. Thank you all for being here. We'll start with order and roll call. Would you mind calling off members of the commission? Commissioner Friedley. Commissioner Wheeler. Commissioner Parker. Commissioner Parker's not here. Commissioner Snyder. Commissioner Patel. Here. Commissioner Carol Fisher. Not here. Commissioner Nur. Yeah. All right, second order of second item order is approval of the last minutes on the June 9th, 2026 meeting. Second on the floor, any discussion for those meeting minutes. None. All in favor, say aye. All co, same sign. Approved. We'll be adopting today's agenda. To adopt the agenda today. A discussion of today is a better. All right, saying none. All in favor, say aye. All right. All those same time. Today's agenda is passed. They're now a 15-minute public comment period. Are there members of the public who would like to speak today? I'll start with the gentleman over here. Would you mind introducing yourself for the record and letting us know what you'd like to talk about? Do you need to stand up with this? Jordan Phillips, former commissioner of a police oversight committee, uh business owner in the community. I guess I'm a little out of it. I didn't get everything in because I've been moving around, but I hear that there is a possible motion to remove uh NAACP from what have you. I guess I'd like to have an explanation of what that is. Um what do you think that would be on the table? Okay, I appreciate it. Thank you. Uh no, I think you should go for something. Yeah, uh, so uh good afternoon, everyone. Uh name is Dr. Wally Ali Bene, president of the Rochester Grant at NAACP. So uh I come here with just uh great concern, you know. Um Mr. Phillips talked about you know uh some of those concerns in terms of the proposed changes about YCP not having a seat, as well as uh the uh the uh the ability for uh uh complaints. Uh now uh my assumption is many of you may not understand the history of the NAACP and the formation of the people of this commission.

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