Minneapolis Police Chief 'Disgusted' With Abuse Of New Recruits, Boosted By Elon Musk

Minneapolis Police Chief 'Disgusted' With Abuse Of New Recruits, Boosted By Elon Musk

In late 2022, the Minnesota Legislature changed state law to allow citizens or people “eligible to work in the United States under federal requirements” to apply for a job as an officer.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said he is "disgusted" over the hate being hurled towards two of its newest recruits: the first Somali-American woman and first non-citizen to become MPD officers.

The Minneapolis Police Department inducted 23 officers in its latest graduation ceremony last month. Ikran Mohamed is the first Somali-American woman to become an officer, while Lesly Vera joins the force as its first permanent U.S. resident to become an officer, having moved to the U.S. from Mexico when she was four.

But O'Hara took to WCCO-AM radio this week to express the "disgust" with the racist abuse the pair have received after their hiring came to the attention of right-wing groups on X, formerly Twitter, which was then boosted by X owner Elon Musk.

An article written by the conservative website Not The Bee criticized MPD for "celebrating" a "non-citizen who was illegally moved here" and "a Somali-American woman," asking: "Is having role models that look exactly like you the most important thing for community safety?

"If not, why are we changing rules for the sake of diversity and celebrating these diversity categories as if this will better protect people from bad guys and bullets?"

The article was shared by Musk, who tweeted: "Near the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman Army also increasingly relied on non-citizens." His tweet received thousands of responses, many of them hateful.

Speaking with WCCO-AM this week, O'Hara described how "disgusted" he is with the recent wave of hate being directed at these women due to their ethnicity and citizenship status.

"It bothers me," O'Hara said. "I don't know why I didn't anticipate how disgusting it would be, particularly from people who claim that they're law enforcement supporters, some former law enforcement officers and chiefs. Even Elon Musk tweeting about it. It's gross. It's disgusting."

In 2022, the Minnesota Legislature introduced two new changes to the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), which now allows people “eligible to work in the United States under federal requirements" to apply for officer positions, which includes U.S. permanent residents and adults who arrived as children and have permission to live and work in the U.S. through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Legislation was also introduced to prohibit people who engage with undefined "hate" groups on social media from entering the force.

Mohamed, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen who moved to the U.S. from Kenya at the age of 10, comes to MPD after working as a correctional officer in Owatonna.

Vera moved to the U.S. with her family at the age of 4 and has lived in Minnesota ever since. She served as a Community Service Officer for MPD, but had been prevented from from becoming a full officer until the 2022 law change.

O'Hara has continued to support the newest recruits. One of his most recent Twitter posts congratulated the recent graduates, saying, "They answered the call to serve despite challenges & have all earned their badges."

SOURCE: Bring Me The News