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OutFront Minnesota would
like our community to know about recent developments with a police
psychologist who’s been suspended and is being investigated by the
Minneapolis Police Department.
This suspension comes as the result of work that
OutFront Minnesota is doing with the Minneapolis Police Community
Relations Council (PCRC). OutFront Minnesota serves on the PCRC, along
with other council members representing other traditionally marginalized
communities. Law enforcement is also represented on the council.
OutFront Minnesota, in addition to several other PCRC members and law
enforcement personnel, raised significant concerns about Dr. Michael
Campion, after meeting with him for the first time on Tuesday, August
22nd,
2006. Dr. Campion has the final say about whether a police candidate is
psychologically fit for duty.
During the meeting with PCRC members, Dr. Campion
was asked numerous questions about how he evaluates the psychological
fitness of potential Minneapolis police officers. Dr. Campion’s
responses raised serious questions in the minds of OutFront Minnesota
and other community members present about his ability to adequately
distinguish his personal beliefs from the psychological requirements of
police work.
Dr. Campion has had enormous authority to veto the
selection of police officers, based on his psychological review of their
extensive files. If someone with Dr. Campion’s level of authority also
carries a deeply held belief system contrary to basic fairness, the
person’s ability to do the job should be evaluated, and that is exactly
what the City of Minneapolis is now doing.
OutFront Minnesota and other PCRC members are concerned that Dr.
Campion could disqualify police officers from serving, based on their
having certain characteristics which Dr. Campion might personally object
to, including being GLBT, a person of color, a single parent, or living
together without marriage.
Dr. Campion, from 1998 until 2005, served on the
board of the
Illinois Family Institute, an organization which strongly opposes the
rights of GLBT citizens and opposes hate-crime laws. Dr. Campion also
said during the meeting with the PCRC that he had worked “very closely”
with Dr. James Dobson, a nationally-known anti-gay leader of Focus on
the Family. When questioned about his involvement with these
organizations, Dr. Campion was evasive and repeatedly stated “you’ll
just have to trust me” with regard to his ability to effectively
evaluate police candidates.
The PCRC’s concerns have now led the Minneapolis
Police Department to suspend Dr. Campion, pending further
investigation. OutFront Minnesota believes that this issue is centrally
about maintaining a quality police force. If police officers, who are
well qualified to serve but are denied the opportunity, the entire City
of Minneapolis loses. OutFront Minnesota believes that nonrelevant
issues should not disqualify someone from becoming a police officer.
OutFront Minnesota is pleased that the Minneapolis
Police Department and the City of Minneapolis, through the city council,
has seen fit to investigate and re-evaluate Dr. Campion’s fitness to
serve as a police psychologist. |
