The law enforcement lobby showed up Tuesday to oppose new rules proposed by the state’s police licensing board‚ including banning law enforcement officers from being involved in hate, extremist or white supremacist groups — because they said the wording is too vague.

The Peace Officer Standards and Training Board has proposed sweeping changes that primarily focus on minimum licensure standards and officer standards of conduct. The rules would also give the POST Board the power to take problem cops off the streets for misconduct, even if they’re not convicted of a crime or disciplined.

The rulemaking by the once sleepy POST Board is a key test of the Walz administration’s efforts to tighten regulations of policing and police, even as newly empowered Democrats at the Legislature will likely look for still more ways to reform policing. 

The POST Board first adopted the rule regarding affiliation with extremism in August 2020, a few months after George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police, sparking a push for the POST Board to enact reforms that a divided Legislature failed to enact.

Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association — representing 10,000 public safety officials — said 92% of their members who responded to a survey have concerns about the proposed rules.

Mark Schneider, representing Law Enforcement Labor Services — the largest Minnesota law enforcement union — and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers’ Association, said the rules aren’t needed, are ambiguous and exceed the POST Board’s authority.

Others opposed a rule that would require applicants to disclose conduct that resulted in a so-called Brady-Giglio disclosure. That’s when prosecutors are constitutionally required to hand over exculpatory evidence to the defense, including about officers testifying on a case who have been disciplined or shown to be untruthful.