Public Safety Committee Meeting: POST Board Overview and Investigation Process - February 25, 2026
Public Safety Committee Meeting: POST Board Overview and Investigation Process - February 25, 2026
On February 25, 2026, the Saint Paul City Council's Public Safety Committee convened at 10:00 AM in Council Chambers to review the role, jurisdiction, and procedures of the Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board. Councilmember Anika Bowie chaired the meeting, with six members present (Coleman, Jost, Kim, Yang, Johnson, Bowie) and one absent (Noecker). The primary agenda item was a presentation by Eric Missel, Executive Director of the POST Board, followed by questions from council members. The meeting was held during Black History Month.
Discussion Items
- POST Board Overview: Eric Missel explained that the POST Board is a licensing and regulatory agency created in 1977, part of the executive branch, with 17 members appointed by the governor for four-year staggered terms. The board oversees pre-service education, testing, licensing, continuing education, and violations of standards of conduct (Minnesota Rules 6700.1600). It does not regulate corrections officers or tribal officers without a state compact. One vacancy exists among the peace officer positions.
- Jurisdiction and Misconduct: The board has jurisdiction over criminal convictions (felonies result in automatic revocation) and violations of standards of conduct. Since 2023, the board can act on an "engaged in" standard (e.g., domestic assault even if pled down to a lesser charge). Prior to 2021, only convictions were actionable. The board does not handle personnel issues, agency policy violations, or quality-of-service complaints—those fall under employer-employee relationships. Chief law enforcement officers (CLEOs) must report misconduct since 2021, leading to a significant increase in complaint volume.
- Complaint Process: Complaints must specify the standard of conduct allegedly violated and identify the officer (name or badge number). Approximately 80-90% of citizen complaints about service quality are baseless or outside jurisdiction. The board's Complaints Investigation Committee (CIC) reviews complaints and can recommend discipline; final decisions rest with the full board. Discipline becomes public only after final action.
- Continuing Education: Licensees must complete 48 hours of continuing education per three-year cycle, including mandatory topics (use of force, bias, crisis intervention, etc.) set by statute. Courses must be POST-approved for mandatory credit; otherwise, they count as general education. The board can deny credit for warrior-style training, as it did for a New Jersey vendor.
- Local Policy and ICE Interactions: Councilmember Bowie asked about training for interactions with federal agents (e.g., ICE). Missel noted that local policies on such interactions are outside POST's jurisdiction unless the legislature mandates a statewide policy. He acknowledged this is a new issue without existing training guidance.
- Board Composition and Representation: Councilmembers asked about geographic diversity and local representation. Missel confirmed that appointments are made by the governor, but in practice, geographic spread is considered. St. Paul has a representative: Commander Jim Yang. The elected official seat for small towns (under 5,000 population) was questioned; Missel did not know the original rationale.
Key Outcomes
- Staff Report Received and Filed: The committee received and filed SR 26-32, the review of the POST Board and investigation processes. No formal votes were taken.
- Clarification on Roles: The presentation reinforced that POST is a licensing board, not an internal affairs or employer-employee disciplinarian. Councilmembers gained understanding of the limitations and processes.
- Next Steps: Councilmember Bowie invited further policy discussions and offered to share Missel's contact information. The Public Safety Committee will continue meeting every fourth Wednesday at 10:00 AM (previously 1:00 PM).
Meeting Transcript
Bring the public safety committee to order. Roll call, please. Committee members Coleman here. Johnson, Joast. Here, Kim here. Acre. Yang here. Chair Bowie. Here. Five presidents, two absent being members Naker and Johnson who are excused. Well, welcome to our second public safety committee meeting of this year, and happy Black History Month, everyone. So we are light but mighty with our topics. So that was supposed to be on this uh month's agenda. Um, we want to just give the new administration some time to present to us a comprehensive plan. So that would be um um coming along. But nevertheless, if you have any items that you wish to review in the public safety meeting, please share those topics with me or the chief of um our policy officer, uh, Tim as well. So moving on to our agenda, I just want to share with you all that I'm so glad to invite our exec our postboard executive director, Eric Missel. Um, and he, like I mentioned, being the executive director is here to discuss the standards process and procedures in educating the council, particularly around their jurisdiction and their role. Um topic has came about in the aftermath of the ICE process um that took place on November twenty-fifth on Rose Avenue on the Payne Phelan um neighborhood, and council unanimously voted to do three things um on December tenth, which was to conduct the analysis, including a public discussion on the ordinance um four three sixteen. Um, also to work with the post board to conduct a thorough investigation into SPPD's use of force during the November 25th incident. And the third thing was to direct the Office of Financial Services to perform an audit of SPPD personnel, operations, equipment, and supplies, which we have received. So last month we had a chance to hear from PCR, particularly around their process and how they took a vote to authorize an investigation. So we now have here the executive director to review not the specifics of the um investigation in our resolution, but to talk about their role and their function as a board and to ask any questions, particularly around the process. So nevertheless, we're gonna just read into the record um their agenda item and also welcome um Mr. Missal to the to the stand, you might read it. Okay. Okay, so as our two of the post board and investigation process. Welcome, Mr. Mistel. Okay. Um I'm told I don't need to touch the mic, so I'll leave them alone. Um little shocked, it's not a full gallery. I thought this was gonna be the huge topic of the week, but uh nonetheless, um thank you for having me and give me the opportunity to um talk about the board, talk about what we do, and most importantly, uh kind of set the um set the ground level uh assessment, if you will, of what we do and what we don't do, what we can do and what we can't do. So that's my purpose, and then of course, to answer any questions you you have. Um I just need to be clear about one thing uh before I get started. I cannot um speak about any ongoing investigations. I can't speak to any complaints we may or may not have received uh or their status. That is all private data, um, which I'll talk about a little bit in the presentation just so you know. Um the only time we can talk publicly about uh such issues are when and if uh there's final discipline issued by the board. So um thank you for that. Please just uh yeah, keep that in mind. Okay. So uh very quickly, I won't spend a ton of time on this, but just to give you some background. Um we the post board itself was created in 1977 by legislation. Um as I understand it, one of the first licensing boards for police officers in the in the country. Um so we're very similar to uh, as you'll hear many times, uh nursing uh board, the bar, um uh medical practice, cosmetology, you name it. So we're purely a licensing board uh in that respect. Um many states use certification as their uh baseline, not licensing. So uh Minnesota's a little bit unique in that in that regard. Um 626.84 is our enabling legislation.
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