The Thin Blue Line in the Crossfire: Who Do We Truly Serve?

The streets of Minneapolis and their surrounding suburbs have become a theater of chaos. As a retired police chief with 33 years of service—and as someone who grew up in Minneapolis and walked those same beats as a patrol officer and detective for seven years—I have seen my share of civil unrest.

But what we are witnessing today is different. It is a crisis of identity for the American police officer. I see our profession currently split into two camps, and the rift is deepening by the hour.

The Two Camps

On one side, you have the critics calling Minneapolis Chief Brian O’Hara a “coward.” Their argument is simple: Police look out for police. They believe that if a federal agent is being pelted with rocks by protesters, local police should be there to “hold the line.” They see Chief O’Hara’s refusal to let his officers assist ICE as a betrayal of the badge.

On the other side, you have leaders like Chief Mark Bruley in Brooklyn Park, who are watching in horror as their own residents—and in some cases, their own off-duty Black officers—are boxed in and harassed by federal agents in random stops.

The Ethical Dilemma

The central question before us is this: 

When a federal agent illegally detains or uses unnecessary deadly force against a resident—as we saw in the heartbreaking killing of Renee Nicole Good—does the local officer’s loyalty belong to the agent or the victim?

The Policing Code of Ethics is not a suggestion; it is a vow. It says our fundamental duty is to serve the community and to safeguard lives. It does not say our duty is to provide a backstop for federal agents who choose to operate in masks, swap license plates to avoid accountability, assault protesters, and ignore the constitutional rights of the people we are sworn to protect.

To My Brothers and Sisters Still in Uniform

I want to be very clear to the officers on the street today. When federal agents use paramilitary tactics to “sterilize” a residential block, point weapons at bystanders, or seize citizens without warrants, they are not helping you. They are terrorizing your jurisdiction and destroying the trust you have spent decades building.

If you see a federal agent using unreasonable force, your oath does not require you to stand down. It requires you to intervene. A local police officer is a creature of the community. You are a Peace Officer. An ICE agent in this current surge is acting as a federal enforcement arm. Most of the people they are targeting are not the “murderers, rapists, and drug dealers” described in press releases. In fact, data suggests that less than 7% of those arrested fall into a “dangerous” category. Most are simply trying to navigate a broken immigration system. Being “undocumented” is a civil offense, not a criminal one.

If a resident is being assaulted, it is our moral and legal duty to intervene! We cannot be the shield that protects federal agents while they violate the law.

The Verdict

The role of local police is to be the “guardians” of everyone in our jurisdiction.

• If residents call 911 because they are being harassed by unmarked men in masks, we show up.
• If we see an agent exceeding their authority, caution, document, and report.
• If a resident’s physical safety is in danger from unreasonable force, we act—regardless of what agency the official belongs to.

We must stop being afraid of being called “cowards” by those who have forgotten what the words Protect and Serve actually mean. True courage isn’t holding a riot shield for a federal agency; it’s standing as a shield for members of our community who are being illegally detained and assaulted.

Our “duty to intervene” is the highest expression of our profession. It is time we stop valuing the comfort of the subculture over the safety of the citizen. If we cannot find the courage to stop a fellow officer from failing their mission, then we have ceased to be guardians of a democracy and have become a law unto ourselves.