19 Complaints Against 1 Minneapolis Officer in 7 Years

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - A Minneapolis police officer whose conduct resulted in excessive-force lawsuits that cost the city $410,000 has had 19 complaints filed against him since he started seven years ago.
Sixteen of the complaints against Michael Griffin have been closed with no discipline. The other three are still under investigation.

Six of the complaints were lodged last year.

Messages were left Saturday at some home-telephone listings for Griffin, while other calls rang unanswered.

Chuck Wexler of the Police Executive Research Forum says departments need to develop early-warning systems to track an officer's performance.

Police Chief Janeé Harteau says the department takes seriously all comments it receives from residents. She says there were 934 complaints last year, about half the number received the previous year.