MINNEAPOLIS — A two year old Department of Justice investigation was triggered after the killing of George Floyd found that the city of Minneapolis and its police department have engaged in practices that disenfranchise residents, specifically black and Native American residents.
According to the DOJ, the investigation determined four basic findings: that the Minneapolis Police Department used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force,” unlawfully; discriminates against people of colorit deprives people of their First Amendment rights and discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to calls for assistance.
The DOJ recommends a long list of changes, including improving use-of-force policies and improving accountability mechanisms related to force.
The city and MPD have also agreed to negotiate a legally binding agreement consent decreeunder the supervision of an independent body with the goal of building community trust and complying with federal law.
“We are grateful to city and MPD leaders for their shared commitment to addressing these profound challenges,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said at Friday’s news conference.
He also acknowledged the difficulties officers face, such as low morale and chronic understaffing, but added that they need adequate support from supervisors to achieve the highest professional standards.
The 89-page report describes specific incidents and case studies the DOJ conducted throughout the investigation, with input from more than 2,000 community members and law enforcement officers. The investigation found that police misconduct cost the city more than $61 million between 2018 and 2022.
The DOJ says the city and MPD leadership have been vocal about the need for reform. They also thanked community members and officers who shared their experiences with the investigation.
“We could not have completed this research without your contributions,” Garland said.
The Minneapolis Police Officers Federation responded to the report, saying it “condemns an entire agency … based on anecdotes that were presented without context.”
Full statement from the Minneapolis Federation of Police Officers: pic.twitter.com/QlUQj0Wdtd
— David Schuman (@david_schuman) June 17, 2023
The Minneapolis NAACP issued the following statement regarding Friday’s announcement:
“The Minneapolis NAACP stands in solidarity with US Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement of the findings of his investigation. We are grateful for the results, but not satisfied as this police culture/behavior has been present before of the death of George Floyd. It is beyond time for us to stop the systemic racism that has affected and is affecting our black community and communities of color. Once again, we appreciate the investigations by both the Department of Human Rights of Minnesota and the Department of Justice to confirm what the black community has. I’ve been saying all along. Now, we want to see evidence that this will end today! I’m not sure the consent decree provides the necessary accountability to end this type of police culture/behavior. Furthermore, our priority is to break down the doors of all systems that violate our constitutional rights in the United States of America.”
Research Findings: Excessive force
The DOJ reviewed incident files for 19 police shootings and one in-custody death between January 2016 and August 2022, along with hundreds of incidents between January 2016 and September 2021.
The investigation found that a “significant portion” of police shootings were ruled unconstitutional because officers “routinely” failed to provide warnings about the use of deadly force.
He highlighted the case of Justine Ruszczyk Damon, who was shot and killed by then-Officer Mohammed Noor while reporting a possible sexual assault in an alley, and a case in which an officer shot a car with six people inside without warning. The city settled for $20 million and $150,000 in those cases, respectively.
Police also used neck restraints, a “deadly tactic” often without warning, the report said. The practice was banned in June 2020, but officers have continued to use the maneuver, even on a protester.
Unreasonable use of force extends to tasers, physical destruction, and pepper spray, and is used against youth and subjects due to the failure of officers to de-escalate situations.
Unlawful discrimination against black and Native American people
MPD actions disproportionately target black and Native American residents of Minneapolis, who make up 18 percent and 1.3 percent of the city’s population, respectively, according to the report.
Discrimination is particularly evident at traffic and pedestrian stops. MPD arrests blacks 6.5 times more than whites and Native Americans 7.9 times more than whites. During the stops, MPD officers were more likely to use force against blacks and Native Americans, the research found.
MPD frames traffic stops as a “superior tactic” for recovering illegal guns, but the investigation found that only a small percentage of MPD traffic stops resulted in recovered guns. In 2018, for example, MPD conducted 32,000 vehicle stops but found only 97 guns, meaning 0.3% of stops resulted in the recovery of guns.
A common thread throughout the report is the lack of adequate data collection, especially after the killing of George Floyd.
Racial data during traffic stops, which officers are required to report under MPD policy, dropped from 71 percent to 35 percent after May 25, 2020. The decline continued over the next two years, according to the research
The MPD is accused of failing to address these racial disparities in a move that damaged community trust. While several reports have previously identified racial disparities in traffic stops, “neither the City nor MPD has mandated anyone to regularly and systematically address MPD’s enforcement data,” the investigation found.
The department also has not addressed racist statements made by police, and has only done so after public outrage, as in the case of the Racist Christmas Tree 2019 in the fourth enclosure.
Violation of First Amendment rights
The research analyzed body-worn camera videos from 22 different protests between 2016 and the present, which found police regularly retaliated against protesters and journalists.
Officers also penalize people who question them during stops and unlawfully interfere with people’s right to observe and record police activity, the report says.
Officers were filmed aiming a 40mm projectile launcher at a 2021 protest, pepper-spraying a journalist who kept his press credential and physically grabbing a protester who shouted abuse at an officer.
Safeguarding speech, the report says, is essential so that “falsehoods can be exposed.” The research stands out Darnella Frazier, who recorded the killing of George Floyd on his phone. The initial press release from MPD about the incident was titled “Man Dies After Medical Incident During Police Interaction.”
Violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act
Although the city launched a mobile crisis response team with behavioral health specialists in December 2021, the report says calls often continue to receive an unnecessary police response. Treatment of people with behavioral health needs is very different from those who need medical assistance, the report found.
About 10 percent of 911 calls between January 2016 and August 2022 were related to a behavioral health issue, but in the vast majority of cases, MPD was primarily responsible for the incident, the investigation found.
The report showed that law enforcement-led responses can cause trauma. And while MPD officers have received crisis intervention training, the materials include inaccurate medical information, the report says.
CBS
There are many contributing causes to breaches beyond poor data collection, the report alleges. MPD’s accountability system is complicated and discourages complaints, often ignoring explicit allegations of misconduct. Investigations into misconduct are long delayed, with 92.2% of cases remaining unresolved for at least 90 days.
Training is also insufficient and officer wellness programs do not provide enough support for officers, the investigation found.
The long list of remedial measures includes improving use-of-force policies, improving data collection and expanding behavioral health capacity.
“Change is not negotiable, change can be painful and the obstacles can be great,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said at Friday’s news conference. “We will not stop until every person, in every neighborhood and zip code feels safe interacting with the police.”
The department is currently operating under a state settlement agreement, following a similar investigation by the state. The MDHR settlement is separate from the federal DOJ investigation.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who has experience operating a department under a consent decree from his time in Newark, promised transparency throughout the process.
“Our aim is to move forward together and ensure we provide the best possible policing for everyone in our community,” he said.
Read the full report below:
WCCO staff
