OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Rochester Police Policy Oversight Commission Meeting - September 10, 2026

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

Transcript — Verbatim
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

Rochester Police Policy Oversight Commission Meeting

Note on date discrepancy: The agenda listed September 8, 2026, the transcript stated October 8, 2026, and the provided meeting date is September 10, 2026. This summary uses the date provided per instructions.

The Police Policy Oversight Commission met on September 10, 2026, at 3:30 PM at the Rochester Police Department North Station (DSIC Room 164B). The meeting focused on proposed amendments to the commission's rules and regulations, including the removal of a designated seat for the NAACP, elimination of incident review authority, and other changes. After public testimony and commissioner discussion, no votes were taken on the proposed changes; the matter was continued to the next meeting.

Consent Calendar

  • Approve Minutes: Unanimously approved the minutes from the June 9, 2026, meeting.
  • Adopt Agenda: Unanimously adopted the agenda for the current meeting.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Jordan Phillips (former commissioner, business owner) expressed concern about a possible motion to remove the NAACP from the commission and requested an explanation.
  • Dr. Wally Ali Bene (President, Rochester Branch NAACP) strongly opposed removing the NAACP seat, emphasizing the organization's foundational role in creating the commission and noting that conditions of racial disparity persist. He cited police use-of-force data showing ongoing challenges across racial lines. He urged no decisions be made until the commission receives additional historical information he plans to provide.
  • Jill Dunatley (community member, likely NAACP affiliate) concurred with Dr. Bene and provided specific data from the police use-of-force dashboard (2020–2024): for display of force with firearms, White people represent 35% and Black/African Americans 52%; for display of force with canines, White citizens represent 27% and Black/African Americans 69.7%. She argued these disparities justify retaining the NAACP seat, keeping language about appointing people with interest in social justice, and preserving the incident review process to maintain public trust.

Discussion Items

Old Business: Police Policy Oversight Commission Rules and Regulations Discussion Commissioners discussed several proposed amendments to the ordinance governing the commission:

  • Membership and NAACP Seat (Section 213.1): The current ordinance reserves one of seven seats for the NAACP. A proposal would remove this designated seat to level the playing field for other organizations. Commissioners debated whether to retain the seat, expand the commission to nine members, or rely on inviting guests. Some argued the NAACP's historical role and ongoing disparities justify a reserved seat; others felt it excluded other marginalized groups. No consensus was reached.
  • Membership Disqualifiers (felony conviction): A proposal would add that individuals with felony convictions are ineligible to serve. Commissioners disagreed: some argued it was not the commission's role to judge types of felonies, while others noted that felons can be elected to city council and should not be automatically excluded. No action taken.
  • Rulemaking Authority (Section 213.3): A change to align with citywide standard rulemaking was discussed and received unanimous support but no vote.
  • Incident Review (Section 213.2a) and Misconduct Review (Section 213.4a): A proposal would eliminate these functions, citing conflict with state law and lack of legal authority. Commissioners noted this would fundamentally change the commission’s role. The deputy city attorney advised that clarifying legal guidance is needed.
  • Annual Professional Standards Manager Presentation (new section): A proposal to codify a once-yearly presentation from the department’s professional standards manager on complaint data and statistics. Commissioners broadly supported this idea.
  • Language on Social Justice and Human Rights: A proposal to remove language about appointing members based on interest in social justice and human rights was criticized by public commenters as a step backward.

Commissioners agreed with the deputy city attorney’s recommendation to not make any decisions at this meeting and to continue discussions after the public has had access to the proposed document.

Key Outcomes

  • Continuation: The commission voted unanimously (6-0, with two commissioners absent) to continue discussion of all proposed rules and regulations changes to the next meeting. No formal votes were taken on any amendment.
  • Next Steps: The deputy city attorney requested that proposed changes be published publicly before the next meeting to allow for public comment. Dr. Bene will also provide a letter detailing the NAACP’s historical role.

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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