Group pushes for more transparency after complaints of racism in DOC

(FOX 9) - An organization advocating for state prisoners is calling on the Minnesota Department of Corrections to address a string of complaints.

The Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee says it’s seeing a surge in racist attacks, remarks and behavior coming from DOC staff over the past year. 

The group held a virtual press conference Tuesday to address the issues. The group says a female guard recently used TikTok to intentionally shame and provoke prisoners. They also take issue with what they say is the past and continued guarding of Derek Chauvin by only white guards.

The newest line of complaints come after a widely circulated video surfaced showing the wife of a corrections officer yelling a racial slur at protesters in Stillwater recently. That guard was later fired. However, organizers say it's not an isolated incident.

"Brown, Black and Indigenous and other people of color are in the care of authority figures at the DOC, and when those authority figures take it upon themselves to act in a way that's unprofessional or racist, that's antagonistic. We have a huge problem, especially when we're not getting the answers that we need," said Stephanie B with the IWOC.

Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said that many of the incidents have been reported, and there's also been action taken.

"We’re working on a building dashboards and mechanisms to be able to demonstrate the work that we're doing," said Schnell. "Are we as an agency perfect? No. Are we committed to and I think have we demonstrated our seriousness in regards to issues that are being raised? Yes, I think we have."

Commissioner Schnell says that the department has had regular discussions with the IWOC for the past several years. He says that the department is making an effort to bring about the changes the group is advocating for.

Meanwhile, IWOC is demanding a thorough, publicly-transparent investigation of racism within the corrections.