Minneapolis will follow police reform consent decree, despite DOJ dismissal
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The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a motion to dismiss its case against the city of Minneapolis that would have resulted in a federal consent decree and mandated reforms for the Minneapolis Police Department.
The move Wednesday was largely expected. President Donald Trump has long opposed consent decrees, calling them a “war on police.” When he took office for a second term, his administration froze all civil rights litigation and issued a memo that said the administration “may wish to reconsider” court-enforceable agreements to reform police agencies.
In Wednesday’s filing, attorneys with the Justice Department say that “after an extensive review by current Department of Justice and Civil Rights Division leadership, the United States no longer believes that the proposed consent decree would be in the public interest.”
Movement toward a consent decree followed a two-year federal investigation into the police department that found MPD’s culture cultivated “systemic problems” that made possible the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. It found MPD routinely used excessive force, “unlawfully discriminates against Black and Native American people,” violates the Americans with Disabilities Act in its response to mental health calls and violates the Constitutional rights of people who criticize them.
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The city welcomed a federal consent decree to guide the department and reached a tentative settlement agreement with the DOJ last December.
City leaders Wednesday said the city won’t change course and still plans to follow the recommendations laid out in the consent decree. In a statement, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the police reforms will continue regardless of the DOJ’s motion.
“We’re doing it anyway,” Frey said. “We will implement every reform outlined in the consent decree — because accountability isn’t optional. Our independent monitor has lauded the meaningful progress we’ve made under the state settlement agreement, and the public can count on clear, measurable proof that our reforms are moving forward.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara reiterated that message: “I came to Minneapolis to lead this department through historic reform,” O’Hara said in a statement. “We will go beyond what is required and deliver real, lasting change for our residents.”
The union representing MPD officers opposes the federal consent decree. The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis said in a statement:
"The monetary cost and negative impacts on hiring and retention greatly outweigh any benefit from another layer of oversight beyond what is already in place under the State settlement. The City's plan to proceed by self enforcing a negotiated settlement now abandoned by the other party is unprecedented, unnecessary, and unwise."
Local police reform activists welcomed that commitment from city leaders but said they don’t believe the changes will be as effective without federal oversight.
Local organization Communities United Against Police Brutality filed a petition in federal court Wednesday asking the judge to keep the case open.
Michelle Gross is the president of CUAPB.
“This consent decree is an important road map for how to address those issues. We are not going to allow this administration to take that away from the community,” Gross said.
Local advocate Nekima Levy-Armstrong said the agreement is still needed.
“As far as I'm concerned, that federal consent decree is written in blood — the blood of those who have been brutally murdered at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department,” Levy-Armstrong said.
The motion to dismiss the case and effectively quash that agreement comes as the city and its residents are marking five years since Floyd’s murder. It also follows a progress report by the state court-appointed monitor for the agreement with the state, which found some positive change.
“While the Department of Justice walks away from their federal consent decree nearly five years from the murder of George Floyd, our Department and the state court consent decree isn’t going anywhere,” said Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero in a statement. “Under the state agreement, the City and MPD must make transformational changes to address race-based policing. The tremendous amount of work that lies ahead for the City, including MPD, cannot be understated. And our Department will be here every step of the way.”
