Minneapolis Won’t Hire Yates to Investigate Ketamine use

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ The Minneapolis City Council has decided against funding an
independent investigation into whether police officers inappropriately urged paramedics to sedate people.

Mayor Jacob Frey had earlier announced plans to hire former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates to look into the issue. That came after a police conduct review found eight cases in the past two years where officers were involved in deciding whether paramedics should sedate citizens with ketamine.

Several members who voted against the plan Friday said that the city could not afford to pay Yates' firm $195,000, especially since it would come out of an already-strained police budget.

The issue gained public attention three months ago when the Star Tribune reported findings from a draft report.