MINNEAPOLIS -- Republican State Rep. Tony Cornish's letter to a Minnesota newspaper offering advice on how to "reduce the use of force by police" is being decried by the president of the Minneapolis NAACP.

Cornish's letter was published today (Wednesday). The letter's advice included not being "a thug" and leading "a life of crime so that you come into frequent contact with police."

Minneapolis NAACP president Nekima Levy-Pounds decried the Cornish's letter. She said that using the word "thug" was referring in code to black men, and that the letter "reinforces negative stereotypes about African-Americans."

Cornish stood by the letter, saying that he was speaking out for "cops" who "haven't had any voice."

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