A Hennepin County judge today set a path toward trial in Peterson, et al. v. Frey, the Upper Midwest Law Center’s lawsuit seeking to compel Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to comply with the police staffing minimum required by the Minneapolis City Charter.
During today’s scheduling conference, the Court set a jury trial for April 2027. Discovery is expected to begin in September 2026, and the case is likely to involve expert testimony. Court-ordered mediation is also expected as the case moves forward.
The lawsuit follows years of failure by Minneapolis officials to meet the Charter’s mandatory police staffing requirement. The Minnesota Supreme Court previously recognized that the Charter requires a police force of at least 0.0017 employees per resident, which currently equals a minimum of 731 sworn officers.
“Today’s conference set the schedule, but it did not change the city’s legal duty,” said Rachel Paulose, Managing Attorney at the Upper Midwest Law Center and lead attorney in the case. “Minneapolis remains responsible for complying with the police staffing requirement in its own City Charter. Based on what we have seen, the city has not made meaningful progress toward meeting that mandatory minimum, and residents should not have to wait years for the public safety protection the law already promises them.”
UMLC represents Minneapolis residents Ronald Peterson, John Tschohl, Laverne Turner, and Mary Holmberg, who brought the case to enforce the Charter and hold city officials accountable for operating below the required police staffing level.
“City leaders do not get to ignore the law because compliance is difficult or politically inconvenient,” said Doug Seaton, President of the Upper Midwest Law Center. “Minneapolis residents deserve a police force that meets the legal minimum required by the Charter.”
UMLC will continue pressing for full compliance with the Minneapolis City Charter as the case proceeds through discovery, mediation, and trial.