Starting this week, Minnesotans gain a powerful tool for transparency in policing. While the Minnesota POST Board’s website already allows users to look up a police officer’s current employer, a new resource created by a coalition of journalists and attorneys will now let the public access an officer’s past employment history.
The free tool, developed by the Invisible Institute—a nonprofit journalism organization based in Chicago—was designed to address the issue of so-called “wandering officers.” These officers move from department to department despite histories of misconduct, posing ongoing risks to the communities they serve.
Chaclyn Hunt, legal director of the Invisible Institute, explained the urgency of this effort. “Wandering officers have presented a significant danger to residents of every state and are an impediment to lasting police accountability,” Hunt said.
Take the case of Sean Grayson, an Illinois sheriff’s deputy charged with murder last summer. Grayson’s troubling employment history—ranging from military discharge for wrongdoing to multiple police misconduct findings—only came to light after a tragic fatal encounter. “Had the Sangamon County sheriff known the public could easily access such records, Grayson may never have been hired,” Hunt added.
A Push for Accountability
The Minnesota POST Board possesses employment records but previously cited technological barriers to making them publicly available. Tony Webster, a local independent journalist known for advocating transparency, played a key role in ensuring the Invisible Institute received the necessary data.
Webster emphasized the importance of empowering both journalists and everyday citizens with tools for accountability. “As much as I believe that journalists should be empowered to access data freely, so should the public,” Webster said.
Minnesota is one of only a few states offering police license lookup tools, making this development a significant step forward. While some states provide even more detailed data, such as reasons for employment termination, others offer only anonymized or limited access.
Bridging Gaps
For now, the public is encouraged to use the POST Board’s existing license lookup tool in conjunction with the Invisible Institute’s database to get a fuller picture of police employment histories.
“We’ll defend the ability to withhold private data, obviously, and that’s our responsibility,” said POST Board executive director Erik Misselt. “But we try to be as transparent as humanly possible. It just so happened that in this instance, we can’t do it currently.”
A Step Toward Justice
For communities that have long called for greater oversight of policing, this tool offers a meaningful way to hold officers accountable. It ensures that those tasked with protecting and serving the public are held to a standard that reflects the values of safety, equity, and justice.
Credit: Susan Du – The Minnesota Star Tribune