MINNEAPOLIS, MN – The U.S. Dept. of Justice this week it has reached a “court enforceable agreement” with the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) to resolve the Department’s findings the city and MPD “engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First, Fourth, and 14th Amendments of the Constitution.”
The DOJ added the city’s police also violated the “Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal anti-discrimination laws.”
According to the DOJ, the “decree’s requirements focus on preventing excessive force; stopping racially discriminatory policing; improving officers’ interactions with youth; protecting the public’s First Amendment rights; preventing discrimination against people with behavioral health disabilities; promoting well-being of officers and employees; and enhancing officers’ supervision and accountability.”
“The people of Minneapolis deserve constitutional policing, bias-free public safety efforts, and effective emergency response services,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
The DOJ said it looks “forward to working collaboratively with city officials, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the people of Minneapolis to usher in a new era of change and transformation.”
Among the reforms DOJ listed “the City of Minneapolis and MPD will implement” are: Using de-escalation to minimize the need to use force and increase the likelihood of voluntary compliance; resolving incidents without force where possible; using force proportional to the threat; and adopting use of force policies, training, and review systems that provide sufficient guidance and develop necessary skills.
Other reforms DOJ listed include enforcing the “law fairly and impartially, providing equal protection of the law for all people in Minneapolis and barring racial discrimination in enforcement; respecting the First Amendment rights of all persons; and maintaining an emergency response system that respects the rights of people with behavioral health disabilities.”
They also include to “investigate allegations of employee misconduct fully, fairly, and efficiently; predicate investigative findings on the appropriate standard of proof and document them in writing, and hold officers who commit misconduct accountable pursuant to a disciplinary system that is fair, consistent, and provides due process; and approach youth in a manner that is developmentally appropriate, age-appropriate, and trauma-informed.”
