Rich Stanek is Wrong for Minnesota

MINNESOTA - Today, Alliance for a Better Minnesota released the following statement regarding Rich Stanek’s announcement to run for governor of Minnesota:

“Rich Stanek has a decades-long track record of divisive, harmful, offensive behavior as an elected official in Minnesota,” said Marissa Luna, executive director of Alliance for a Better Minnesota. “From using racial slurs during his time as a police officer to being named in numerous police brutality lawsuits, Rich Stanek has shown time and time again that he is not the leader that Minnesotans need. We need a governor who will bring Minnesotans together and move our state forward, not someone who will continue to divide our communities. Rich Stanek is wrong for Minnesota.”

The Associated Press reported in April 2004 that Rich Stanek had been named in four police brutality cases in Hennepin County while working as a police officer. This includes a traffic stop in Minneapolis that resulted in a $55,000 settlement because of his excessive force.

While in court for his police brutality, the Star Tribune reported that Stanek admitted to using racial slurs. When asked under oath, he claimed that using the N-word inside his home was “his business.”

Stanek’s policing record and use of offensive, harmful language forced him to resign as Public Safety Commissioner under Governor Pawlenty’s administration.