The Department of Justice said Friday that officers of the Minneapolis Police Department have had a pattern of “deeply disturbing” behavior that disproportionately affects minorities and the mentally ill, following a years-long investigation prompted by the murder of George Floyd.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Justice ... [+]
U.S. Attorney General Merick Garland on Friday said a two-year investigation into the MPD found that officers use excessive force when no force is necessary, unlawfully discriminate against Black and Native American people, violate the rights of protestors and mistreat mentally ill people.
An 89-page report describes in detail several specific instances of officers violating civil and constitutional rights, including pepper spraying a reporter, stopping minority residents at a rate six times that of their white counterparts and using deadly force "without first determining whether there was an immediate threat."
Garland said Derek Chauvin, the officer convicted of George Floyd’s murder, had used excessive force in the past while “multiple other MPD officers stood by.”
The MPD has agreed to 28 remedial measures that Garland says will ensure constitutional and fair community policing.
The DOJ launched its investigation into Minneapolis policing practices in 2021, a year after the death of George Floyd.
The Minneapolis Police Department has been the subject of intense scrutiny after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, killed Floyd in Minneapolis by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. The murder launched protests across the country, Floyd became a powerful symbol of systemic racial injustice and calls for police reform and defunding were heard nationwide. Investigators have since said that the Minneapolis Police Department disproportionately searched, criminally cited and used force against the city’s Black residents, and the city agreed last month to reform the city's police department after reaching a settlement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Reforms include a requirement for officers to intervene if they see another officer breaking the law, new guidelines for the use of body-worn and dashboard cameras and restrictions on traffic stops and searches.
More sanctions. The Minneapolis Police Department has been put under a consent decree, essentially a court order mandating broad police reform, and will be forced to operate under the order until it meets 28 specific guidelines outlined by the DOJ.
"As Mr. Floyd died, other officers failed to intervene… His death has had an irrevocable impact,” United States Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday. “His loss is still felt deeply.”
- That's how many police officers the Minneapolis department had on its payroll early this month, down from the 912 it employed in early 2019 and well below the minimum of 731 officers set by the city’s charter, the New York Times reported.
There are more than a dozen law enforcement agencies currently under consent decrees, the Department of Justice says, including departments in Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland and Springfield, Massachusetts. The Chicago decree came after the DOJ determined a pattern of dangerous behavior specifically impacting African American and Latino communities, and Baltimore Police entered into its agreement after a federal report that found racially-biased excessive use of force.
Minneapolis Approves Police Overhaul 3 Years After George Floyd’s Death (Forbes)
Minneapolis Officer Who Kneeled On George Floyd’s Back Sentenced To 3.5 Years In Prison (Forbes)
Two Years After George Floyd, Black Leaders Reflect On Change (Forbes)