[KSTP] 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has obtained a photo of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges posing with a convicted felon while flashing a known gang sign.
The man in the photo is a twice-convicted felon for drug selling and possession and illegal possession of a firearm. He is currently sentenced to five years at the St. Cloud Correctional Facility, with the prison term stayed for three years while he is under supervised probation until 2016. If he violates terms of his probation during that time, he will serve the five years behind bars.
The photo was taken a week before the November election while the mayor canvassed neighborhoods with a nonprofit group in a get-out-the-vote event. Hodges declined repeated requests for interviews, but her spokesperson told us the mayor enjoys meeting with many people who are organizing on the North side.
The spokesperson also says the man in the photo is well regarded by the nonprofit that employs him and the mayor is simply "pointing at him" in the photo. Retired Minneapolis police officer Michael Quinn, who also managed the department's Internal Affairs Unit, says the photo is "disappointing because it puts coppers at risk." |