A Minneapolis cop investigating a sexual assault said a man couldn't be guilty if he had kids with the victim: investigation
AP Photo/John Minchillo
- A Minneapolis cop once claimed a man couldn't be guilty of sexual assault if he had kids with the victim, a state probe found.
- The detail was included in a report by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights looking into the MPD.
- The state agency found that officers "consistently" use racist and misogynistic language.
A Minneapolis Police Department cop investigating a sexual assault case once bizarrely claimed a man could not be held accountable for the crime if he had kids with the victim, a state civil rights probe into the police force found.
The detail was included in an explosive 72-page report by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights following a roughly two-year investigation into Minneapolis and its police department.
"When investigating a sexual assault case, one MPD officer falsely stated that a man could not be guilty of sexually assaulting a woman if they had children together," according to the report, which was released Wednesday.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights found in its probe that the Minneapolis Police Department "maintains a culture where MPD officers consistently use racist, misogynistic, and disrespectful language and are rarely held accountable."
In its investigation, the state agency examined a massive amount of data dating back to 2010 from police stops, searches, arrests, use of force, policies, procedures, trainings, interviews, and ride-alongs.
"According to body worn camera footage and interviews with MPD officers and City leaders, some MPD officers and supervisors also use misogynistic language and rely on misogynistic stereotypes," the state report says.
"This includes MPD officers calling community members, who are women, 'fucking cunt,' 'bitch,' and 'cussy,' a derogatory term that combines the words 'cunt' and 'pussy,'" the report continued.
Minneapolis police officers also described a dispatcher as a "bitch," according to the report.
"Additionally, in reference to how a City leader handled a high-profile police event, an MPD supervisor told that City leader that they 'hope [the leader] gets fucked in the ass,'" it says.
The report goes on to say: "Officers who are the subject of these racist or sexist comments hesitate to, and often simply do not, report the problematic officers because they do not believe in the efficacy of the City's and MPD's accountability systems and fear retaliation if they report the harassing behavior."
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights concluded from its investigation that the city and the MPD engaged in an unlawful pattern or practice of racial discrimination over the last decade.
The agency began its investigation into the police department on June 1, 2020 — a week after George Floyd, who is Black, was killed by white former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020.
The city of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider on Wednesday.