Minneapolis will review police training and use-of-force policies following the killing of George Floyd
The Minneapolis City Council on Monday unanimously approved an agreement with the federal government to review the city’s police training and use-of-force policies in response to a police killing in 2020. George Floyd.
The agreement includes and builds on changes Minneapolis police have made since former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of killing Floyd after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes during his arrest in May 2020, sparking protests across the country.
Known as a consent decree, the agreement requires officers to “promote the sanctity of human life as the highest priority in their activities” and “conduct their law enforcement duties with professionalism and respect for the dignity of every person.”
Officers must not allow race, gender or ethnicity to “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, flanked by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, left, and Chief Brian O’Hara of the Minneapolis Police Department, speak at a press conference at the U.S. Courthouse in Minneapolis, Monday, Jan. 6. 2025. (AP)
The agreement will place the police department under long-term judicial supervision. The department has already been in talks with the federal government since the Justice Department issued a scathing reprimand to Minneapolis police in 2023.
After a two-year investigation, the DOJ accused the department of engaging in systematic racial discrimination, violating constitutional rights and neglecting the safety of people in their custody for years before Floyd’s death. The DOJ said the officers used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force,” and violated First Amendment free speech rights.
“George Floyd’s death was not only a tragedy, it was an uplifting force for the city and the nation,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said at a news conference Monday. “All eyes remain on Minneapolis, and with this consent decree, we now have a plan for reform that will help this community heal while strengthening trust between police and the people they serve.”
The Minneapolis City Council has approved an agreement with the federal government to review the city’s police training and use-of-force policy in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
An independent monitor will oversee changes to police training and policy, which must be approved by a judge.
“I’d like to thank our community for standing together, united on this and being patient with us as we’ve been through a very, very long and challenging journey,” City Council President Elliott Payne said Monday after the vote. “We are just at the beginning and we know that we have a long way to go. Our success will only be achieved when we all work together on what is undoubtedly one of the most important issues in the life of our city.”
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 year before. A state investigation found that metropolitan police engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination for at least a decade.
The DOJ has opened 12 similar investigations into state and local law enforcement agencies across the country since April 2021, including many in response to high-profile police killings. If the courts approve, the DOJ will enforce 16 police “patterns and practices” of settlements across the country.
Council President Elliott Payne, center, and the Minneapolis City Council vote to go into closed session immediately after opening session to consider a federal consent decree mandating reforms to the Minneapolis Police Department, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP)
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The DOJ reached settlements with Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson, Missouri. A consent decree against Louisville, Kentucky in the police killing of Breonna Taylor is pending court approval. The mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, pushed back against efforts for a consent decree last month, arguing that the city has made many positive changes since the tragic death of Tyre Nichols.
During his first administration, President-elect Donald Trump was critical of consent decrees, viewing them as anti-police.
The agreement in Minneapolis becoming final before Trump returns to office later this month would make it harder for him to stop the deal, as the changes would need court approval.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
