Fresh perspectives on recent news events from Nekima Levy-Pounds, Greg Davids, Ryan Winkler and Amy Koch.

A fresh perspective on recent news events from John Kriesel, Sen. Scott Dibble, Rep. Greg Davids and Nekima Levy-Pounds.

A fresh perspective on recent news events from Nekima Levy-Pounds, John Kreisel, Rep. Greg Davids and Amy Koch

South-Central Los Angeles was hell in the late 1980s. Poverty was rampant, housing deplorable, and graffiti scarred almost every edifice. Drugs and gangs begot drive-by shootings and daylight robberies. Yet for some in that topsy-turvy world, the criminals were heroes, and cops were the enemy.

Sen. Mee Moua's controversial proposal to prohibit law-enforcement agencies from maintaining gang databases came before the Senate's State and Local Government Operation and Oversight Committee on Friday afternoon. Supporters and detractors of the measure were primed for a debate. Deputies from the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office and community activists concerned about police misconduct filled the committee room.