The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the results of a years-long probe Friday, finding that the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) repeatedly violated the rights of residents prior to the death of George Floyd.
“The Department of Justice has reasonable cause to believe that the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law,” the DOJ wrote in its report.
In April 2021, Officer Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder after he kneeled on the throat of George Floyd. The DOJ announced its probe into the department the day after, and released the results of its investigation Friday.
Specifically, DOJ found that MPD uses excessive force “often when no force is necessary,” including unjustified deadly force. MPD was also accused of unlawfully discriminating against black and brown persons.
The DOJ concluded that the Minneapolis police department acted in ways that violated the 1st and 4th Amendments to the US Constitution. There was also reason to believe that MPD violated Title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Safe Streets Act, and the Americans with Disability Act, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a press conference.
“As I told George Floyd’s family this morning, his death has had an irrevocable impact on the Minneapolis community, on our Country and the world,” said Merrick B Garland at the press conference. The report could cause the overhaul of the police force, which has already seen a large departure of officers, according to The New York Times.
Chauvin’s murder of Floyd started protests and riots nationwide and prompted several cities to consider defunding the police, with some successfully doing so. In Minneapolis, hundreds of police left the force due to the political climate, and some even got disability payments for post traumatic stress,
Appreciation for the Black Lives Matter movement, which flourished after the murder of George Floyd, had decreased in the past year, according to a recent poll by Pew Research. In 2023, 53% of Americans say they support the Black Lives Matter movement, down from 56% a year ago.
Prior to explaining his findings, Garland quoted one city leader saying that “these systemic issues didn’t just occur on May 25th, 2020. There were instances like that were being reported by the community long before that.”
Examples of unlawful behavior included unnecessary use of tasers and unjust deathly force, according to Garland. Garland used the example of an MPD officer shooting and killing an unarmed woman after he was “spooked” when she approached his car. She had called 911 to report an alleged sexual assault, and thought the police officer was responding to her call.
MPD also routinely responded to individuals in custody claiming they couldn’t breathe by saying “you can breathe, you’re talking right now.”
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