Minneapolis to overhaul police training and use-of-force policies after George Floyd’s murder
The Minneapolis City Council on Monday unanimously approved an agreement with the federal government to overhaul the city’s police training and use-of-force policies in response to the 2020 police killing of George Floyd.
The agreement incorporates and builds on what Minneapolis police have said since former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020. changes since he was convicted of murder and sparked nationwide riots.
The agreement, known as a consent decree, requires officers to “promote the sanctity of human life as the highest priority of their activities” and “discharge their law enforcement duties with professionalism and respect for the dignity of each individual.”
Officials must not let race, gender or ethnicity “influence any decision to use force, including the amount or type of force used.”
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Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division speaks with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, left, and Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, Brian O’Hara, speaking at a news conference at the U.S. Courthouse in Minneapolis. (Associated Press)
The agreement would subject the police department to long-term court oversight. The department has been in talks with the federal government since the Justice Department issued a scathing rebuke of Minneapolis police in 2023.
After a two-year investigation, the Justice Department accused the department of engaging in systemic racial discrimination, violating constitutional rights and disregarding the safety of detainees in the years leading up to Floyd’s death. The U.S. Department of Justice said the police’s use of excessive force, including “unreasonable deadly force,” violated the right to speech protected by the First Amendment.
“The death of George Floyd was more than just a tragedy, it was a galvanizing force for this city and the country,” Assistant Attorney General Christine Clark, director of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said Monday. said at a press conference. “All eyes are on Minneapolis, and through this consent decree, we now have a roadmap for reforms that will help this community heal while strengthening trust between law enforcement and the people they serve. .
The Minneapolis City Council approved a deal with the federal government to overhaul the city’s police training and use-of-force policies in response to the death of George Floyd. (Stephen Mattlen/Getty Images)
An independent monitor will oversee changes to police training and policies, which must be approved by a judge.
“I want to thank our community for coming together and being patient with us as we go through a very, very long and challenging journey,” City Council President Elliott Payne said Monday after the vote. “We just We have just begun, and we know there is a long way to go before our success can be achieved only if we work together to solve what is arguably one of the most important issues in our urban life.”
In 2023, a state court approved a similar agreement between Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights after the agency released its own report the previous year. A state investigation found that the city’s police officers engaged in racially discriminatory behavior for at least a decade.
Since April 2021, the Justice Department has opened 12 similar investigations into state and local law enforcement agencies across the country, many of them into high-profile police killings. If approved by the court, the Ministry of Justice will implement 16 policing “patterns and practices” solutions across the country.
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Minneapolis City Council President Elliot Payne, center, and the Minneapolis City Council consider a request to restructure the Minneapolis Police Department during a final meeting on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. The vote to go into closed session came immediately after a federal consent decree enacting the reforms. (Associated Press)
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The Justice Department has reached agreements with Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson, Missouri. A consent decree with Louisville, Ky., over the police shooting of Breonna Taylor is awaiting court approval. The mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, rejected an effort for a consent decree last month, arguing that the city has seen many positive changes since the beating death of Tyre Nichols.
During his first administration, President-elect Donald Trump was critical of consent decrees, viewing them as anti-police.
The Minneapolis deal will be final until Trump returns to office later this month, making it difficult for him to block the deal because changes would need court approval.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
