Mandatory police liability insurance backers begin making case in court

Backers of a proposal to require Minneapolis police officers to carry liability insurance tried Tuesday to persuade the Minnesota Supreme Court to put the idea to voters in November. A proposed amendment to the city's charter would require officers to carry professional insurance.

Supporters say it would hold officers accountable for misconduct, if judgments against them raised their premiums and cost them out of pocket. The city said it can't do that under state law.

Attorney Jordan Kushner, representing the supporters of mandatory police liability insurance, said that's not true.

"Even if you take all the city's arguments and the police federation's arguments and give them the most benefit, it's debatable as whether there's a conflict or not," Kushner said. "So under the standards that have already been set forth, it's not clear cut and it's not appropriate to deny the opportunity to have this voted on by the city of Minneapolis."

Last week, Hennepin County District Court Judge Susan Robiner determined that existing state law preempts this requirement. Robiner said the state already has extensive regulations for how and when municipalities defend and indemnify employees including police officers.

Hennepin County has asked the court to decide on the case by Friday in order to meet deadlines for printing ballots.

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