Looking back to Autumn of 2022, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) engaged in discussions with Minneapolis Mayor Job Frey’s office following the conclusion of their investigation into the murder of George Floyd and the public outrage that followed. The Mayor announced this past March 31 that the City and the MDHR had reached an agreement for the consent decree. Some of the corrections needed in the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) were aggressively getting attention, and other issues were in the planning stages. Fortunately, the Mayor knew changes were needed, the voters had agreed that a city structure that held the Mayor responsible for action was needed, and the focus was to move forward with the past-due changes for the MPD.
In June, the MPD was again in the national news. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the Federal findings on the MPD, which ultimately led to the death of George Floyd. The U.S. Department of Justice started a federal investigation in 2021 and turned the results over to the U.S. Attorney General’s office. While A.G. Garland acknowledged that progress has been made in the MPD thus far, he also stressed that there was much more progress needed to address violations of Federal laws.
It is unknown how long the Federal consent decree will last. During an active consent decree, there are requirements for the City to show progress on the objectives and to not perpetrate new systemic offenses. All of this will cost the City money, which is beneficial to make the changes and complete the decrees. It will improve our City to have a police force we can all respect, and the new environment will become a regular part of each officer’s day.
The progress made and the dollars committed to address decades of systemic policing issues can be found at minneapolis.org/safety-updates/future-of-public-safety/.
Author’s note: The changes are already making a difference. On May 15, MPD Chief Brian O’Hara got out of his police car and joined in a chase for suspects that had bailed out of a stolen car. He apprehended one suspect and put him in cuffs. It is very positive to have the Police Chief experiencing what the other police officers are facing. And it should be encouraging to the public safety employees to know the Chief is not just a figurehead.