Justice Department Reaches Agreement with the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police Department to Reform City’s and Police Department’s Unconstitutional and Unlawful Practices

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a court enforceable agreement with the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) to resolve the Department’s findings that the city and MPD engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First, Fourth, and 14th Amendments of the Constitution as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal anti-discrimination laws.

The consent decree, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota and subject to court approval, sets forth the roadmap to reform within the city and MPD. 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 decree calls for the appointment of the Effective Law Enforcement For All team as an independent monitor to assess whether the requirements of the decree are being implemented. The independent monitor will report publicly on the city’s implementation efforts on a regular basis.

“This agreement places the City of the Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department on a path toward achieving the significant reforms, lawful policing, and appropriate emergency response services that the residents of Minneapolis deserve,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “As I said last summer when I announced the findings of this investigation — George Floyd should be alive today. This agreement is an important step toward ensuring that meaningful, durable reform is achieved in Minneapolis.”

“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 consent decree we unveil today marks a new chapter for Minneapolis, a city still healing following the tragic death of George Floyd. Through this consent decree, the City and the Minneapolis Police Department have committed to instituting reforms that will make Minneapolis a model law enforcement agency that respects everyone’s civil and constitutional rights.  We look 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.”

“This agreement calls for focused, measurable, and detailed reforms that reflect input from the community and a shared goal of positive transformation to benefit the City, the police, and the citizens of Minneapolis,” said Civil Chief and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana Voss for the District of Minnesota.

Under the consent decree, the City of Minneapolis and MPD will implement comprehensive reforms to:

• Use de-escalation to minimize the need to use force and increase the likelihood of voluntary compliance; resolve incidents without force where possible; use force proportional to the threat; and adopt use of force policies, training, and review systems that provide sufficient guidance and develop necessary skills;
• Enforce the law fairly and impartially, providing equal protection of the law for all people in Minneapolis and barring racial discrimination in enforcement;
• Respect the First Amendment rights of all persons;
• Maintain an emergency response system that respects the rights of people with behavioral health disabilities;
• 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;
• Approach youth in a manner that is developmentally appropriate, age-appropriate, and trauma-informed; and
• Provide confidential mental health wellness services to all MPD officers and other groups of public safety personnel.

The Justice Department announced its findings in June 2023, following a thorough investigation into the City of Minneapolis and MPD. The Department found that it had reasonable cause to believe that MPD: uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and unreasonable use of tasers; unlawfully discriminates against Black people and Native American people in its enforcement activities; violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech; and — together with the city — discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to calls for assistance. The Department concluded that persistent deficiencies in policy, training, supervision, and accountability contribute to the unlawful conduct.

The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota conducted the investigation, with the assistance of law enforcement professionals, pursuant to the pattern or practice provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Since January 2021, the Special Litigation Section has opened 12 investigations into law enforcement agencies. The section is enforcing 15 agreements with law enforcement agencies and two post-judgment orders. Additionally, on Dec. 12, 2024, the Department and Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Government filed a joint motion in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky to enter a consent decree intended to resolve the Justice Department’s findings that Louisville Metro and the Louisville Metro Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution and federal law. That motion remains pending court approval.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota is available at www.justice.gov/usao-mn.

Information specific to the Civil Rights Division’s police reform work can be found at www.justice.gov/crt/conduct-law-enforcement-agencies.

The Justice Department will hold a virtual community meeting at 7:00 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Members of the public are encouraged to attend to learn more about the consent decree.

View the consent decree fact sheet here.