Police Union Chief: No Uniform During Union Interviews

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The president of the Minneapolis police union says he's been ordered not to wear his uniform during media interviews while he's representing member officers.

Minneapolis Police Federation leader Bob Kroll says he received a letter from Chief Janee Harteau ordering him to stop wearing the uniform during interviews unless he's speaking on behalf of the department.

Kroll recently commended four off-duty Minneapolis officers working security at a Minnesota Lynx game who walked off the job because the players wore T-shirts supporting Black Lives Matter during warm-ups. Harteau criticized the officers for leaving the Target Center.

A police department spokeswoman, Sgt. Catherine Michal, says the letter from Harteau to Kroll was a private personnel matter.