Ramsey’s sheriff struck a sunset remark; critics say the reference has a racist story

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Critics of Fletchers say the comment on her show on Monday, July 5 refers to so-called sunset towns, communities that for decades have kept blacks or other groups away by warning them to leave or stay away before sunset.

On Thursday, July 8, Fletchers’ comment was denounced by three elected officials, including Saint-Paul city council member Mitra Jalali, who called it disgusting and unacceptable.

In a statement to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Fletcher said that until Thursday, he had never heard of the negative connotation.

Obviously, they’ve never watched the same westerns that I did where the sheriff told gunmen to get out of town, according to his statement. There was no intended racial connotation. The villains in westerns were white.

Sheriff’s livestream

Fletcher began broadcasting his patrols live on Facebook and YouTube in late July 2020, saying he wanted to help inform and educate the public about law enforcement work in the hopes of building trust and relationships. of the community through transparency. There have been over 12 million views of the videos on YouTube.

Fletcher’s commentary came on the Monday Night airing, which was his 160th and lasted 3.5 hours. After cutting the video feed, he explained that he and his broadcast partner Pat Scott did so because they had exchanged intelligence information with St. Paul Police about the possible addresses of some criminal suspects, which we didn’t want to broadcast before us. will go through these addresses.

Yes, we don’t want us to know we know the addresses, said Scott, a part-time analyst for the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office and a longtime retired St. Paul’s police officer.

Fletcher then said, 100 years ago, however, we would have just said, OK, son, you have until sunset to get out of town. Scott can be heard in the video laughing.

Social media backlash

The Whittier Cop Watch Twitter account shared a video clip of the comment on Tuesday night, garnering nearly 300 retweets, 25,000 views and numerous reactions on social media. Soon, Twitter users tagged the accounts of Ramsey County, County Board member Trista MatasCastillo and others in an attempt to bring it to their attention.

MatasCastillo called it horrible.

It’s appalling to me that people talk mindlessly and without caring about the harm that causes, she said. In Ramsey County, we are so committed to racial fairness and breaking down the barriers of systematic racism and white supremacy, and to have an elected official like the Sheriff blatantly ignore these efforts and to speak that way is really horrible.

Council member Jalali took to Twitter, saying Fletcher should step down.

The melancholy reminders of twilight towns, where police brutally harassed / killed black people after dark, are disgusting and unacceptable, his Tweet reads.

Jalali said she hopes the Ramsey County Board of Directors investigates the video and the necessary consequences will be brought against Fletcher and the sheriff’s office.

County Board Chairman Toni Carter said she also saw the clip of what she described as a cavalier comment from Fletcher, adding that she hadn’t watched more than that and did not know the context.

But I think the statement, the use of that reference, was unfortunate and an unnecessary reminder that even unconscious biases can continue to live and breathe and permeate law enforcement, she said. When that kind of referral is made, I think it reminds me of those kinds of times. As we move into the 21st century and focus on the kind of law enforcement that puts everyone’s safety first, these kinds of cavalier memories, whether intentional or not, just don’t have their place. square.

Previous disputes

As an independent elected official, the sheriff is directly accountable to the voters, not to the board of directors. That hasn’t stopped Commissioners from voicing their dissatisfaction with Fletcher over the past year, going so far as to explore how to get his post from elected official to appointed.

In December, at the council leadership, four online listening sessions were held with residents, focusing on the responsibility of the Fletchers and the trust they place in residents.

The council’s action followed the incarceration of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin in the Ramsey County Jail. In June 2020, eight minority prison workers filed complaints with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, saying they had been discriminated against when their supervisor banned them from interacting with Chauvin. Last month, a Hennepin County judge sentenced Chauvin to 22 and a half years in prison for the murder of George Floyd.

Fletcher said at the time that he asked his office to make changes immediately and indicated his willingness to work with the department.

Ramsey County Commissioners continued to raise concerns about Fletcher after his Nov. 18 pursuit of a stolen vehicle in St. Paul.

Livestream raises eyebrows

In May, St. Paul City Council passed a resolution on a 5-2 vote asking the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training to assess whether Fletchers Live on Patrol violates Sheriff’s Office policy and the Code of Conduct. of the Minnesota Police Department.

The council resolution, which was sponsored by Jalali, council chairwoman Amy Brendmoen and Rebecca Noecker, states that the Fletchers patrols in St. Paul with dash cam-style videos aired of her tours to host a talk show. Crudely produced reality TV recorded his patrolling decisions and actions. which were characterized as both recklessness and a specific violation of official policy and protocol of the St. Paul Police and Ramsey County Sheriffs, and as such, angered members of the community and elected officials.

Jalali suggested via Twitter on Thursday that Fletchers’ comment be added to the review.

Concerns for Council members include the car chases in which Fletcher was involved. Chris Tolbert pointed to a moment during a live patrol on November 18 when Fletcher chased a stolen vehicle the wrong way around a residential street in St. Paul and said to Scott, Keep that off, okay? The part in the wrong way.

Tolbert said he took Fletcher’s words to mean, I know what I’m doing is wrong. Don’t let people see it.

But Fletcher said it wasn’t his intention. He said he knew the one-way street was extremely short and was asking Scott not to send the information to the agents in St. Paul because he didn’t want us to project a level of danger. who was not there.

Fletcher said he believed there was a political agenda behind the action of city councils, although he said he was in favor of any scrutiny.

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