The city of Minneapolis took a major step backward on Friday when the
                      City Council voted to send the subject of federal mediation to the Health
                      and Human Services and Public Safety and Regulatory Services committees.
                      The vote was eight to five, and effectively removes federal mediation as an
                      option in the near future.

                      Federal mediation has been held out by community leaders as one of the
                      only hopes Minneapolis has of healing a city long divided against
                      itself with racial tensions polarizing neighborhoods. The tension had seemed
                      to come to a head last month, when two women, one a Black woman, and
                      the other, a white police officer were shot and killed in south Minneapolis.

                      The level of racial tension increased with the reaction of the Police Officers
                      Association to a letter written by City Council member Natalie Johnson Lee
                      expressing concern for the families of both women. The tension was brought
                      to a boil with the shooting of a young Black male by police, followed by the
                      shooting of yet another young Black male by Minneapolis police in a botched
                      drug raid. All of these events took place in the month of August. The tension
                      did not begin there; it goes back decades.

                      Patricia Campbell Glenn, a senior mediator with the US Department of
                      Justice, arrived in Minneapolis at the end of August and suggested that
                      city officials and community leaders enter into mediation.

                      A mailing by a local neighborhood group explains mediation this way:
                      "Federal mediation is a way for the community to make a binding
                      agreement with city officials and the police. We present a list of demands
                      about how we want the police to change and improve.  An experienced
                      federal mediator with the Community Relations Division acts as the "referee"
                      to make sure the process is fair and helps the community and city
                      officials hammer out an agreement.  The federal mediator then monitors to
                      make certain the city and police keep their word.  If the city or the
                      police do not follow the agreement, the federal government can take them
                      to court and make them follow it."

                      Mediation, however, cannot be forced on Minneapolis; Mayor R.T. Rybak
                      and the City Council must agree to it.

                      City Council chambers were filled to capacity with members of the
                      community. Several carried signs urging the Council to agree to mediation.
                      Mayor Rybak issued this statement about mediation:
                      "I have felt for some time that Minneapolis could benefit from an
                      outside perspective that would help improve police-community relations. I
                      have had concerns about the Justice Department's involvement. However,
                      since Patricia Glenn has arrived, she has built trust, and I believe she
                      can play a positive role in helping our community."

                      Council member Robert Lilligren introduced the motion to send the
                      subject of mediation to committee. Member Gary Schiff had proposed to have
                      the city coordinator work with Patricia Glenn to draft a preliminary
                      model for the form, scope and ground rules for mediation, but the motion
                      was defeated in favor of Lilligren's. Apart from Lilligren, Council
                      members voting to send mediation to committee were Barbara Johnson, Council
                      President Paul Ostrow, Sandra Colvin Roy, Scott Benson, Lisa Goodman,
                      Barret Lane and Joe Biernat.

                      Many members in the audience were unhappy with Lilligren's proposal and
                      the outcome of the Council's vote, and made their displeasure known.

                      The most visibly upset audience member was Charon Dow, whose son,
                      Mallik was a victim of an off duty Minneapolis police officer in a hit and
                      run incident. She angrily chastised the City Council for its seeming
                      callousness and insensitivity.

                      Other shouts that came from the floor of the chamber stated that
                      mediation was the only way to keep Minneapolis from boiling over and that
                      there would be violence in the street if the City Council did not move to
                      prevent further police brutality and violence.

                      There are several advantages to federal mediation as opposed to private mediation:
                      * Federal mediation is free; private mediation would require tax dollars.
                      * With private mediation, the city would be free to "shop" for
                      mediation by an entity that would provide a predetermined outcome. Federal
                      mediation would take away the city's chances of stacking the deck.
                      * The only way that private mediation could be enforced would be for
                      the community to band together and take the city to court. In federal
                      mediation, the US department of Justice would deal with non-compliance
                      with federally mediated guidelines.

                      There is no set timeline for the consideration of federal mediation to come back out
                      of committee. Many believe that the issue has effectively been killed for good.

                      Michelle Gross of Communities United Against Police Brutality spoke for
                      many in the community when she said, "I believe that what they passed
                      was less than nothing. It's nothing but a delay so the City Council can
                      have complete control of the mediation... If there is one more incident
                      in this town, people are going to blow."