The world lost its mind in 2020. In the context of a world locked down over the spread of COVID, the death of George Floyd sparked historic rioting and historic animosity toward law enforcement.
In Minnesota, the Minneapolis City Council and many other “leaders” embraced what may be the dumbest policy-proposal in America’s modern history, defunding the police. Many corporate interests embraced every “woke” policy imaginable to ingratiate themselves to customers (and Human Resources Departments) gone mad. They focused their ire at law enforcement, implicitly embracing the position that every cop in the country is at least a little bit racist. And other institutions — from universities, to editorial pages of the most prominent of newspapers, to nonprofits — joined in the pile on.
It is in this context that the heroic leadership of Brian Peters in 2020 and thereafter should be recalled.
As executive director of the Minnesota Police & Peace Officers Association (MPPOA), Brian held the line in the most serious attack on law enforcement in the state’s modern history. In the legislative sessions that followed 2020, MPPOA was forced to play whack-a-mole with extremists in the state legislature who seemed determined to dismantle public safety piece by piece. One day it was a bill to strip qualified immunity from every officer in the state, opening the door for cops to be personally bankrupted for doing their best to do their jobs. The next day it was a proposal to hand disciplinary power to unelected “civilian review boards” packed with far-left activists. They even took steps resulting in the removal of school resource officers from our schools.
These weren’t fringe ideas in some activist blog. These were real bills that would have had very real consequences. Through it all, Brian fought back. He showed up and exposed how dangerous these proposals really were. As the then-MPPOA lobbyist, the late Cort Holten, put it in the February 2022: “We have faced our worst attacks ever over the last three years. In my tenure, I have never seen such hateful, ridiculous, and irrational proposals put forth … We have never worked so hard, but we have prevailed thus far. In 2019, Brian Peters came … in what appeared was going to be a quiet session; then all hell broke loose. … Upon coming under attack, the MPPOA has fought back.”
Brian’s leadership was not theoretical. It was tested, repeatedly, in real moments when officers’ reputations and lives were on the line.
When former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter faced prosecution after a tragic, split-second mistake in 2021, much of the political and media class rushed to condemn her before the facts were even known. But MPPOA, under Brian’s leadership, stood firm, providing her with legal support to ensure that she had competent counsel and a fair defense even as political pressure mounted, standing alongside Kim in the most trying of circumstances.
That case was an early example of what has since become a contemptible pattern of law enforcement officers being treated differently than others based on their profession.
The most glaring example came just a few years later.
In February 2024, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty charged State Trooper Ryan Londregan with murder for doing his job: protecting himself, his partner, and the public in a deadly encounter with an armed suspect. Ryan had acted in accordance with the law, and Moriarty’s charges stunned law enforcement.
Under Brian’s direction, MPPOA became the tip of the spear in defending both Trooper Londregan and the rule of law. MPPOA provided legal and public support, engaging one of the state’s best attorneys, Chris Madel, and eventually Moriarty was forced to drop the charges.
The MPPOA’s unwavering defense of Trooper Londregan sent a message to every peace officer in Minnesota: you will not stand alone.
Now, after years of service, Brian Peters has quietly stepped down from his role at MPPOA. In typical fashion, there was no press conference, no self-congratulation, no demand for recognition. Just a quiet exit, the same way he led.
Fundamentally Brian reminded Minnesotans — and our leaders — that nearly all officers serve with honor, courage, and compassion, and that a civil society cannot survive without them. In doing so he never sought applause or headlines. That humility is what made him so effective in the first place.
Some historians would have us believe that history is shaped by impersonal forces that individuals can’t control. They are wrong. History is made by the men and women who show up and act. And that’s exactly what Brian did. He stood beside officers and their families when others distanced themselves and helped steady an entire profession under attack.
We should all be deeply grateful that for five critical years Brian Peters showed up. When law enforcement needed a leader, he was there. And because of that courage, Minnesota is stronger today.
Jim Schultz is president of the Minnesota Private Business Council (growthmn.com ), is a former professor of constitutional law at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, and was the 2022 Republican nominee for Minnesota attorney general. He can be followed on X @JimForMN. He wrote this for the News Tribune.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not represent an official position of Alpha News.
Jim Schultz
Jim Schultz is the President of the Minnesota Private Business Council and was the 2022 Republican nominee for Attorney General.
