Minneapolis council approves police surveillance after George Floyd investigation Reuters
By Andrew Goudsward
(Reuters) – The Minneapolis City Council voted on Monday to agree to sweeping reforms of its police department and subjecting the department to outside oversight after a U.S. federal investigation prompted by the 2020 killing of George Floyd revealed a pattern of civil rights violations.
The city clerk and a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed Monday’s 12-0 council vote.
Minneapolis and the Department of Justice have reached a court-enforceable agreement, known as a consent decree, that will seek an outside independent monitor to report on the city’s progress.
The agreement, which must be approved by a federal judge, cements police reforms in a city that came into the spotlight in 2020 after Floyd’s killing by a white police officer sparked weeks of nationwide protests and civil unrest over racism and police violence against black Americans.
Floyd, who was black, died after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.
The settlement was finalized just weeks before Republican President Donald Trump returned to office.
Trump has been vocal in his support for police, and advocates expect the new Trump administration to exercise less oversight than that of Democratic President Joe Biden, who came to office promising reforms after Floyd’s killing.
A Justice Department investigation, which concluded in 2023, found that Minneapolis police regularly used excessive force and discriminated against blacks and Native Americans.
The investigation found that police used potentially lethal neck restraints, which the city has banned, and shot people in situations where there was no immediate threat.
The probe, known as a “pattern or practice” probe, was separate from the federal prosecution of four Minneapolis police officers, including Chauvin, who were convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Chauvin was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison in the federal case. He was also found guilty of state charges of murder.
Pattern or practice investigations, which examine the entire department, have often led to consent decrees, court-filed agreements mandating reforms and often years of outside oversight.
Minneapolis is the second US city to reach such an agreement following an investigation launched by Biden’s Justice Department, despite the department launching a dozen police investigations in the past four years.
Louisville, Kentucky, entered into its own agreement with the Department of Justice last month.
Other cities, including Phoenix, have resisted outside oversight and disputed the Justice Department’s findings. Several investigations have only been completed in the past few weeks, leaving little time to finalize plea deals before the end of the Biden administration on January 20.
During the presidential campaign, Trump promised to increase the legal protection of the police. In his first term, the Justice Department limited the use of pattern or practice investigations and sought to challenge previously negotiated plea deals, deeming them an excessive burden on police departments.
