Star Tribune
Families of men killed by police settle lawsuit against BCA
Five families who sued the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for information on relatives’ killed by police have settled for $165,000, setting new standards for how the agency responds to similar data requests.
The families of Dolal Idd, Zachary Shogren, Okwan Sims, Tekle Sundberg and Brent Alsleben will split the money evenly, and their attorney Paul Bosman says members were given all data requested about their loved ones’ death. Settlement terms also require the BCA to provide a one-page document when families request data about deceased relatives. That page must include:
- How to get private data
- What families must do to get data
- A written link to the BCA’s procedures
- Contact info for the BCA’s family victim and community coordinator
- Instructions for family to contact the local law enforcement agency involved in their case if requesting personal property of deceased loved ones
“These people are at the peak of grief for losing a loved one by violent means, with no way to understand what’s going on, and the BCA was not giving them that information when the law said they should,” Bosman said. “We’re hoping that this improves things for families. Both because: They’ve promised to do better, but also because they have an incentive to do better.”
Although the case is settled, Bosman said some families still do not have their loved ones’ belongings because they were unaware they must contact the law enforcement agency involved in their relatives’ death.
Monday’s agreement comes months after those five families gathered at the Ramsey County Courthouse with pictures of slain relatives and demands for accountability. Idd’s family said they waited nearly three years for info on the death of their son’s, who was killed by Minneapolis police in late 2020 — nearly the maximum time allowed to pass before Minnesota’s statute of limitations prevents people from filing wrongful death lawsuits.
In a statement, the BCA said it settled the lawsuit to avoid its financial and emotional toll on everyone involved. More resources are now in place to quicken the agency’s response.
“Prior to this lawsuit being filed, the BCA had already sought and secured funding from the Legislature to bolster our data practices team,” the statement read. “Requests for data from the BCA have increased dramatically in recent years and this additional funding and staffing will mean faster responses for anyone who requests information in the coming years.”
Mohamed Omar is the new board chair of Hennepin Healthcare System, the organization that runs HCMC, making him Minnesota’s first Somali American hospital board leader.
The health care system board permanently appointed Omar to the position Wednesday at their regular meeting. He had served as interim chair since Babette Apland stepped down in September.
Omar has been on the volunteer board for three years, working on the finance, investment, audit and compliance committees. He is the chief administrative officer at the Washburn Center for Children and previously was chief financial officer at the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.
In a statement, Omar said he was excited to lead a hospital board in the state with the largest Somali American population in the U.S. He said he shared the health system’s dedication to providing “equitable, high-quality care.”
“My commitment is to deepen our community engagement, build more authentic connections between patients and team members, and build a confident future together,” Omar’s statement said.
CEO Jennifer DeCubellis and Nneka Sederstrom, chief health equity officer, praised Omar’s selection to lead the board. They said more inclusive leadership with a commitment to ending health disparities are key to HCMC’s success.
Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando, who is also on health system board, said she was excited to work with Omar. She said county leaders are dedicated to good stewardship of the “state’s last public safety-net hospital.”
“As the first Hennepin County Board Chair of color, I know how impactful it is for our communities to see themselves represented in public leadership,” Fernando said.
DULUTH – The Superior National Forest has lifted its forestwide campfire ban, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, effective Friday.
Recent rain and humidity have improved conditions across the national forest’s 3 million acres, forest officials said in a news release.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has also lifted fire restrictions in Cook, Koochiching, Lake and northern St. Louis counties.
Fire danger is still a concern this time of year, said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist.
“As leaves fall and vegetation continues to dry out, it’s important for people to be cautious with anything that can cause a spark,” she said.
The national forest imposed its broad campfire ban nearly two weeks ago, after a third wildfire, named for Bogus Lake, was discovered on forest land. No significant fire activity has been reported in recent days for any of those three fires. A fourth fire inside the forest, the 8.5-acre Pfeiffer Lake Fire, started Oct. 17. It was contained within 24 hours, the Forest Service said.
Much of northeast Minnesota is still classified in the “severe drought” stage by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris was asked this week if she thought Donald Trump was a fascist, and she replied ‘’Yes, I do.’’ She subsequently called him the same thing herself, saying voters don’t want ‘’a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.’’
But what exactly is a fascist? And does the meaning of the word shift when viewed through a historical or political prism — especially so close to the end of a fraught presidential race?
An authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is often associated with the far right and characterized by a dictatorial leader who uses military forces to help suppress political and civil opposition.
History’s two most famous fascists were Nazi chief Adolf Hitler in Germany and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Known as Il Duce, or ”the duke,” Mussolini headed the National Fascist Party, which was symbolized by an eagle clutching a fasces — a bundle of rods with an axe among them.
At Mussolini’s urging, in October 1922, thousands of ”Blackshirts,” or ”squadristi,” made up an armed fascist militia that marched on Rome, vowing to seize power. Hitler’s Nazis similarly relied on a militia, known as the ”Brownshirts.” Both men eventually imposed single-party rule and encouraged violence in the streets. They used soldiers, but also fomented civilian unrest that pit loyalists against political opponents and larger swaths of everyday society.
Hitler and Mussolini censored the press and issued sophisticated propaganda. They played up racist fears and manipulated not just their active supporters but everyday citizens.
