ST. PAUL, Minn.—Former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger will lead an independent review of law enforcement planning and tactics used during the Republican National Convention.
But Heffelfinger said his team of reviewers won’t be investigating allegations of police misconduct.
“That is outside the scope of what we’ve been asked to do,” Heffelfinger told Minnesota Public Radio News on Tuesday. “It’s quite simply, ‘Was there was a plan of procedure in place? Were people properly trained to comply with it? Did they comply with it?’ And that is about it.”
The review, which St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman announced Tuesday, will also be led by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Luger. Heffelfinger and Luger have yet to assemble their team and set a timeline for the review.
More than 800 people were arrested during the convention last week in St. Paul. Officers in riot gear used tear gas, pepper spray and percussion grenades to control protesters.
Some observers have questioned the use of force and criticized police for arresting journalists and legal observers who hadn’t intended to commit civil disobedience.
While the review team will look through allegations against police, it will only gather information about police compliance with procedures and best practices in law-enforcement, Heffelfinger said. Allegations of excessive force by police would be heard in a courtroom or through a civilian police review, he said.
That concerned Jordan Kushner, an attorney with the National Lawyers Guild who believes some of the tactics police used to subdue demonstrators were unnecessary.
“I think it would be important to examine exactly where the police responded appropriately and inappropriately, or unnecessarily,” Kushner said. “There needs to be an analysis of how much was this the result of individual police officers, and how much of this was a result of a poorly conceived plan that didn’t adequately protect the rights of people who were protesting in the streets.”
Coleman and other officials have praised police after property damage by rogue protesters was kept to a minimum. But mayor’s spokesman Bob Hume said the city wanted an objective assessment, which is why officials sought the outside review.
“We do think this is going to give us a good opportunity to look at … lessons that were learned in our community,” Hume said.
Between 10 to 20 people have filed complaints with the police department’s internal affairs unit, but spokesman Tom Walsh said none of the complaints were filed correctly because the would-be complainants didn’t sign the forms.
“Until we have something definitive, it’s pretty tough to move forward,” Walsh said.
Aside from Heffelfinger’s review, the St. Paul Police Department plans its own report evaluating security planning and tactics for the convention.
In addition, St. Paul City Council member Dave Thune plans a community hearing on Sept. 24 to discuss convention security efforts.
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Information from: Minnesota Public Radio News,
