Transcripts

[HISSING] DONALD BANHAM SR: He is running the air down on that compressor to remove some--

CHRIS ROBERTS: Refurbishing old cars and fishing are among the more avid pursuits of Don Banham's retirement, payback for 27 years as a University of Minnesota policeman. The 63-year-old Banham, who lives in suburban Eagan, says he was drawn to law enforcement by a desire to help and protect people. He says taking the police officer's exam in the late 1950s was also a conscious decision to break the color barrier.

DONALD BANHAM SR: That's one of the things that Minneapolis needed, was more minority policemen [LAUGHS] because so many of the white officers do not understand Blacks, and they do not attempt to understand them.

CHRIS ROBERTS: During his career, Banham not only patrolled the university campus, but also surrounding areas of the city and frequently was dispatched to trouble spots by the Minneapolis Police Department. He says in his 27 years, he probably made as many arrests as any other officer, but he never shot anyone or hit them with a baton. Banham was always aware of a strong undercurrent of racial tension running through the university and city police departments, though he says it rarely surfaced.

DONALD BANHAM SR: I was treated pretty well with respect to white police officers. I've heard things said when I was coming up to a door and entering a room. But I, if I do say so myself, was in pretty good shape. And the majority of the officers in the department were afraid of me. And all of them knew that I was not afraid to tackle.

[POLICE RADIO CHATTER]

[SIREN WAILS]

CHRIS ROBERTS: Sergeant Don Banham Jr. guides his squad car through rush-hour traffic, responding to a disturbance in Downtown Minneapolis. Banham, who's 35, is a nine-year veteran with the Minneapolis Police Department, stationed in the 4th Precinct. He still carries the muscular frame that served him well as a college running back.

Inspired by his father's example, Banham chose law enforcement as a career but had no idea of the challenges he would face. Even though his father spoke little of the problems he encountered because of race, Banham says they must have been significant.

DONALD BANHAM JR: I'm sure that there were situations when he was going through law enforcement that not only did he have to verbally stand up for himself, but physically had to stand up for himself. I know I have. And if I've had to do it, I know for a fact that he has.

CHRIS ROBERTS: Banham says breaking into the fraternity of police officers is difficult for anyone. But he says within that fraternity is a good old boy network of white males who went to the Police Academy together, were promoted together, hunt, fish, and drink together, and who watch out for each other on and off the job. He says if you're Black, it's virtually impossible to penetrate that network.

As rookies in the mid-'80s, several Black officers noticed a discriminatory pattern in their treatment. And Banham says when they decided to form a support group, they had similar stories to tell.

DONALD BANHAM JR: You realized that although we all were, quote unquote, "blue," we were a little darker blue. And sometimes you'd see somebody be handled in a certain way, whether it be a disciplinary situation or an assignment situation or wanting to get some overtime to leave early or whatever, and just being treated a little bit different than, let's say, the next guy. Just some real subtle things like that.

CHRIS ROBERTS: Banham says the support group, which became the Black Police Officers Association, met often when the Minneapolis Department was the focus of a drug investigation in early 1987. He says that probe left a bitter taste with many Black officers, who felt they were unfairly targeted. Early this year, when several Black officers received hate letters sent through inter-departmental mail, Banham says the racism they had detected for years finally took a definite shape.

DONALD BANHAM JR: Within the context of the letters, there was death threats. There was mention of staying in your place, stop making demands. There was all kinds of things that were really disheartening within these letters. And all of a sudden, it struck you in a whole different note because it became real, real personal. Then someone was obviously going out of their way to let you know how they felt

CHRIS ROBERTS: Banham says while the association received hundreds of letters of support from the community, it was disappointed with the way Minneapolis Police Chief John Locks responded. He says both publicly and internally, Locks could have made stronger statements against hate.

DONALD BANHAM JR: I still, to this date, really don't know why he didn't. Maybe it's out of denial. I've seen a lot of denial since these letters have been written, where people just don't want to believe that a cop could do that, and particularly, a white cop would feel that way. So it might have been out of denial. It might have been out of the fact that he didn't want to see negative press come out of this.

CHRIS ROBERTS: For his part, Locks says his administration reacted as quickly as possible to the hate mail, immediately seizing all typewriter ribbons within the department and turning them over to the FBI. Locks says he has stated publicly that bias crimes won't be tolerated within the department, but the media didn't pick up on it.

JOHN LOCKS: So I don't feel like I didn't support them. Maybe it could have been a day or two sooner, and I could have pressed harder to make sure that all the viewing and reading and listening public was well aware of the message.

CHRIS ROBERTS: Meanwhile, Don Banham Sr. is concerned about his son's welfare.

DONALD BANHAM SR: You have enough things to worry about just being a policeman and facing the general public and the things that you might face out in the street. But he's got to also worry about what comes from within the department. So you've also got to be watching your back. And not knowing who it is, you don't know where it might come from.

CHRIS ROBERTS: Banham believes the only way to improve the situation is to hire more Black officers and promote them into administrative positions. Currently, the Minneapolis police force is more than 800 strong, but just 35 officers are Black. Banham says police relations with the Black community will improve dramatically if more Blacks join the department. His son agrees.

DONALD BANHAM JR: I remember 20 years ago, when I was a kid reading the newspaper, and we're talking about some of the same problems then that we are now. And our numbers, as far as Blacks are concerned within the police department, really haven't changed, really haven't improved since then and by no means are even keeping up with what departments are doing around the country.

CHRIS ROBERTS: Chief Locks says he recently made job offers to 28 candidates, 12 of whom are Black. And he believes the department is turning the corner on minority representation. But he admits that minority recruitment has been neglected for years. Locks says to be a police officer in Minnesota, you need a two-year college degree in criminal justice, plus another year of police school and on-the-job training, which he says has deterred minorities from getting involved. Because there are so few minority officers, Locks says there's only a small pool of talent to draw from and promote to higher positions. But Don Banham Jr. believes the issue is more about whites being reluctant to give up power to people who are racially or culturally different. In a few days, sergeants in the department will be taking a lieutenant's exam, and Banham plans to be among them. This is Chris Roberts.