Never defend the indefensible
The officer seen pulling a man from a wheelchair in a now-infamous surveillance video is officially no longer part of the Duluth Police Department. The department said recently that the Duluth Police Union Local 807 has dropped its opposition to the department’s efforts to terminate Officer Richard Jouppi. A Pine County jury cleared Jouppi of any criminal wrongdoing connected to the September 21, 2012 incident at a detox facility in Duluth, but Chief Gordon Ramsay said Jouppi’s actions were not consistent with department training or policy. Sometimes you have to be smart about picking your battles as an organization.