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Sep 21, 2009 10:27 pm US/Central
Cop's Heated E-Mail Defends Officers In Beating
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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In an e-mail titled 'Use Of Force,' officer Mike Sauro blasts those who passed judgment on the officers' actions in the violent arrest of Derryl Jenkins.
CBS
A 35-year veteran on the Minneapolis police force is defending colleagues accused of going too far during an arrest.
But that's not all. He advocated an approach to the use of force that directly contradicts what his boss, Police Chief Tim Dolan, has said.
The video showed six officers kicking and punching Derryl Jenkins in February. Last month: The city's police chief said he's concerned about some of what he sees there. He asked the FBI to investigate and told supervisors to use the video as a learning and training tool.
That's when Lieutenant Mike Sauro sent an e-mail to his officers in the 4th precinct.
The e-mail was titled "Use of Force."
In it Sauro wrote, "What I observed was a controlled use of force by a group of highly trained professional police officers."
Sauro wrote the e-mail in response to a request from Dolan to discuss use of force.
"Clearly Lt. Sauro's concern for the safety of officers was what sparked this. He is very passionate about it," said Deputy Chief Janee Harteau.
Sauro blasts those who passed judgment on the officers' actions. He says it's easy to dissect a force incident in the safety of City Hall or a newsroom.
Deputy Chief Janee Harteau says Sauro's intentions were good, but his e-mail didn't generate the conversation that the department would like to see.
"There certainly are components and his personal view were in the e-mail that are certainly not consistent with views of the MPD," said Harteau.
Sauro is a high-profile supervisor who was the subject of an excessive force civil lawsuit that cost the city of Minneapolis more than $1 million back in the early 90s.
Sauro says if he were in a situation similar to this, he would "strike the suspect with hands, feet and baton."
This is in direct contradiction to what Chief Dolan said after watching the video. He said, "the actions of the first officer on the scene here all appear to be very appropriate. Some of the actions of officers who arrived later, specifically the kicking of the suspect, give me concern. Because of this I am asking for an outside review by the FBI."
Sauro goes on to blast the FBI by saying, "How much expertise does the FBI have in use of force? My experience tells me very little."
In the e-mail, he even questions the FBI's investigation of terrorists before 9/11, asking, "How did that turn out?"
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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