Brooklyn Park Council Requests Mental Health Eval for Colleague
The Brooklyn Park City Council is asking one of its own members to seek a mental health evaluation.
Speaking during an Oct. 7 work session, elected city officials said Council Member Maria Tran believes there’s a conspiracy to hurt or kill her at city hall.
They described this as one in a series of unsubstantiated claims made by Tran since she was elected.
“Part of the reason Council Member Tran is not attending our meetings is because she has expressed, both written and vocally, that she thinks the mayor and [the city manager] are going to have her killed in this room,” said Council Member Nichole Klonowski.
In one instance, Tran accused another council member of threatening to punch her in the face. In another, she accused a council member of a racial or ethnic bias, while also saying he was able read her mind, according to the meeting audio.
Tran was censured by the council in June for violating the city’s respectful workplace policy.
Police Chief Mark Bruley told the council that Tran recently came to the police station to apply for a firearms-related permit.
“The reason she wanted the gun was — very specifically — for her protection,” he said. “But also, very specifically, that she feels attacked by this council. I have not seen any credible information that would lead a reasonable person to believe that they are under attack. And certainly not any type of attack that would lead you to believe that you need to obtain a gun.”
According to Bruley, Tran did not want to provide police staff with her home address when applying for the permit. She implied that she needed it for self-defense against other council members.
The chief has attempted to contact her by phone and at her home, but has not been successful, he said.
The Brooklyn Park City Council is planning to vote on a resolution asking one of its own members, Maria Tran, to seek a mental health evaluation.
Concerns and Response
Council members said they were concerned for Tran’s safety, as well as their own.
“I think that’s unsafe, not appropriate, and indicative of somebody who is not thinking clearly and needs help beyond what we on this council can provide,” said Council Member Christian Eriksen. “Council Member Tran has made accusations against many people sitting around this table.”
Klonowski said that in the past, she tried to convince Tran that there’s not a conspiracy against her.
“My empathy ends when someone is trying to obtain a firearm in relation to these, I would say, increasingly paranoid comments and escalating rhetoric,” she said.
Mayor Hollies Winston characterized Tran’s previous accusations as “divorced from reality.”
“People deserve the right to defend and protect their own reputation,” Winston said. “They also deserve the right to feel safe.”
The council ultimately requested that city staff members draft a resolution asking Tran to seek a mental health evaluation.
Tran didn’t attend the Monday work session, but posted the following on Facebook.
“Anti Asian in politic can be seen publicly in BP city council activities [sic],” Tran wrote on her Facebook page. “Watch last night [sic] attack behind the victim’s back (I was at another event at the library for local residents). Using nonstop threats, intimidation, bullying, conspiracy and defamation to push a political opponent out of the system is unconstitutional. Want to see justice?”
The council is expected to vote on the mental health resolution at a future meeting.
