A Northsider comes home to run the Fourth Precinct

By David Pierini staff reporter

As a homicide detective for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), Charlie Adams had a knack for getting a tight-lipped suspect or witness to talk.

This was the kicker: “You know, I’m from the Northside, right?” 

It’s a clear piece of shorthand. It signals to the person being interviewed that Adams needed only a faint whiff to smell the bull in a story. It also commanded instant respect and trust because they were  talking to one of their own.

Adams’ ties to home turf is what guides him as the new inspector of the Fourth Precinct. He is the first Northsider to ever run the Fourth and his appointment sparks hope for many Northsiders feeling imperiled by surges in violent crime and a record shortage of police officers. 

“The chief wanted me to come up to the Northside,” said Adams, 58, a 34-year veteran of MPD who started at the Fourth Precinct in January. “I’m here and I’m happy. This is a community-led precinct. I can’t solve anything or cure violence without the help of community.” 

Longtime civil rights activist Spike Moss thanks God for allowing him to live long enough to see the appointment of Adams. Moss has been an unapologetic irritant to city and police officials over the years, fighting racism and police brutality and advocating for the hiring of Black officers. 

“I (also) wanted to see Black police officers have rank and run the precincts. This is special to me,” Moss said of Adams’ promotion. “We weren’t going to get a fair shake if the precincts were controlled by men breaking the law with their badge.

“He brings decency, respect and the ability to communicate. That’s all we ask for is for someone to be able to communicate with us like a human being.”

Adams finds himself in a unique spot … a Black man helping to lead a department under fire since last May, when a white MPD officer, Derek Chauvin, killed George Floyd while kneeling on his neck in custody. Chauvin’s murder trial begins March 8.

The unrest that followed Floyd’s killing prompted calls to defund the police, and rage from the community in part led to dozens of police officers leaving the force. The anger, the exodus of cops and economic and social stress created by a global pandemic fed an uptick of crime. 

Now the city is at odds with how to balance public safety and much-needed reforms in policing. At the same time, residents in his own precinct have sued the city over inadequate policing in North Minneapolis. 

With public safety in Minneapolis in flux, Adams could shine a light on how police and community can serve one another. 

“I think he’s the right person and at the right time,” said Lisa Clemons, a retired MPD officer who founded the street outreach group, A Mother’s Love. “He’s a grassroots guy, raised in North Minneapolis and he understands the dynamics and needs of this community.

“He has the capacity to wear blue and stay Black. If anyone can bridge the gap with community, it’s him.” 

One early test came on Jan. 14 in the Victory neighborhood. Police got a call from a man being threatened by another man with a gun. After a brief chase with the suspect ended in a crash, the suspect open fired on police as they were trying to remove him from his vehicle. Officers returned fire and the man eventually surrendered after another officer fired a non-lethal round.

Adams called in community allies, such as A Mother’s Love, We Push for Peace and the Rev. Jerry McAfee, to meet with anxious neighbors. 

“He knows everybody and he’s not waiting for them to come to him. He comes to us,” Clemons said.

Adams has always appreciated the help. He could be on a case and a real break would come through a friend, a relative, even his mother, who may have heard something at church, the grocery store or elsewhere in the community.

He says he cleared 90 percent of his cases when he worked in homicide, “not because I’m smart. That was the community doing that.”

A lengthy career, a family affair

Adams grew up in low-income federal housing and at an early age understood the indignity of white police viewing Black people with suspicion. He had periodic encounters with police as a kid when he was out and about with friends. There was one instance when his brother was getting ready for prom and about to take his father’s Cadillac when stopped and had it towed away.

“They saw it parked and thought people like us shouldn’t have a car like that,” Adams said. “I was upset and my mom jumped in and said ‘You need to be part of the system if you want it to change.’”

After stints as a security guard and bus driver, Adams went through the academy and joined MPD in 1987. In his early days on the force he bristled over how Black officers were treated. One of his mentors, the late civil rights activist, Rod Edwards, encouraged him to advocate for diversifying the mostly white, male MPD. 

In 2007, he was part of a group of Black officers to sue the department for racial discrimination that included being passed over for promotion and overtime. The officers settled with the city and one of the other officers involved in the lawsuit is now Chief Medaria Arradondo, the city’s first Black chief. 

Over the course of his career, Adams has worked in four of the city’s five precincts. He served in Internal Affairs and in the Juvenile and Homicide units. Prior to being named inspector of the Fourth Precinct, Adams was commander of the Violent Crimes Division.

He is one of three from the Northside Adams family to work for the Minneapolis Police Department. His brother, Tony Adams, was an MPD officer for 30 years, and helped run the Police Athletic League. He retired and now runs security for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Charlie Adams’ son, Charles Adams III, was the longtime resource officer at North High School before he left MPD last year to head security for the Minnesota Twins. He remains a beloved mentor in North Minneapolis, especially as the Polars head football coach. The senior Charlie Adams has served as an assistant coach of the team for 10 years. 

The challenge ahead

Adams is a student of Sir Robert Peel, who is considered the father of modern policing. As England’s home secretary, he established the country’s first full-time organized police department. That was in 1829, but Peel’s nine principles of policing echo many of today’s calls by reformers for an ethical police force.

To hear Adams talk about community partnerships is a philosophy seemingly shaped by Peel’s most famous quote, “The police are the public and the public are the police.” 

Adams wants to bring that teamwork approach to two hot spots in North Minneapolis; the intersections of Lyndale and Broadway avenues and Lyndale and Lowry avenues. He wants to put more police in those areas but also partner with peace and crime prevention groups to address issues like substance abuse. 

During his officers’ confrontation with the armed man in the Victory neighborhood last month, he said some of his officers worried there would be backlash for the return of fire. However, the positive response from people nearby, and Adams’ move to call in community partnerships “should open their eyes.”

“The Northside supports you,” Adams said he told his officers. “When have you ever heard of people suing the city for a lack of protection. This is our precinct and we have citizens that have our backs.”