ST. PAUL, Minn. — A St. Paul City Councilman is facing intense scrutiny following his decision to walk out of a council meeting Wednesday afternoon.
Dan Bostrom, councilman for St. Paul’s Ward 6, walked out of a meeting that discussed a grant for police to receive body cameras according to a Pioneer Press report.
While Katy Cummins-Bako, a St. Paul social workers lambasted the police telling the council, “I’m embarrassed to say I’m from the city that kills the most people in our state,” Bostrom left the hearing.
Bostrom, who has served as Ward 6 councilman for 12 years, worked at the St. Paul Police Department as a sergeant for more than 25 years. His son also served as sheriff of Ramsey County.
Bostrom told Frederick Melo of the Pioneer Press that he had a meeting in his office and had left because he had not expected the council meeting to go on so long.
Melo reports many audience members were extremely frustrated with Bostrom’s decision to leave in the middle of the meeting. Some council members stayed after the meeting to speak further with the audience.
St. Paul police rolled out a pilot program for police usage of body cameras in 2016 and is expected to have 400 officers equipped with the devices later this year.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.
