A videotaped altercation between a white police officer and a black man went viral after it showed the officer arresting the man who was simply walking.  The video prompted outrage and the mayor and City Council of Edina, Minnesota have publicly apologized after hearing emotional testimony from the audience about race relations there.

In the video, Larnie Thomas is being held back by his jacket by a plainclothes police officer who refused Thomas' demands that he be released.  The officer told Thomas that he was walking in the middle of the street.  Thomas responded that he was avoiding sidewalk construction.  Throughout the video, Thomas' frustration was apparent, and at one point Janet Rowle, a bystander who filmed the altercation, told the officer that Thomas was "scared."  Thomas removed his jacket, then his shirt while trying to escape the officer's grasp.  A second officer arrived and arrested Thomas.

Outraged speakers from different races testified on Tuesday one-by-one before the council about the quality of race relations in Edina, which is a wealthy Minneapolis suburb 15 minutes south of the city.  It has a population that is 88 percent white and just 3 percent black, according to Census figures.  The council meeting set aside its usual agenda to address the audience's frustrations.

A white woman testified that Edina needed to "confess its sins."

A black man testified about how he travels to Edina to go shopping and feels conscious of his clothing and appearance when he is there.

An Indian man told the council Tuesday that racism "is a problem" in the city. Another man said Thomas was "treated like an animal."

Councilmember Bob Stewart said, “I think we can do better.”

“For Mr. Larnie Thomas, I’m going to meet him face-to-face,” Edina Mayor James Hovland said at Tuesday’s hearing. “It’s one thing for me to sit up here and apologize, it’s another to meet him face-to-face.”

The disturbing the peace charge against Thomas has been dropped.  City officials say they will now review their policies and see if any reforms are necessary, including retraining the officers.

Source: youtube.com