If Trump Administration walks away from consent decree, MPD reforms all on state
DOJ could decide about federal consent decree with MPD
The Trump Administration could decide this week if they will pursue a federal consent with the Minneapolis Police Department. FOX 9's Symone Woolridge.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Trump Administration could decide this week whether it will continue to pursue a federal consent decree with the Minneapolis Police Department that was reached in late 2024 during the last days of the Biden Administration. Earlier this year, the United States Department of Justice requested delaying the implementation of the court-enforceable agreement. With the federal consent decree up in the air, FOX 9 talked to the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights about the status of the state's consent decree and how Minneapolis is progressing with police reforms five years after the murder of George Floyd.
What if DOJ walks away from the consent decree with MPD?
What they're saying:
Rebecca Lucero, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, says the fate of the federal consent decree "doesn't have any meaningful impact on" the reform efforts already underway through the state's consent decree.
"Whether or not (the federal consent decree moves forward), the state consent decree is very much in place and is being worked on and has been worked on for these past several years either way," Lucero said in a recent interview with FOX 9.
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The Department of Human Rights launched its investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department days after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
After the state found the department engaged in a pattern of discriminatory policing that dated back years, the two sides entered into a court-enforceable agreement in 2023.
"Not everyone understands this is a court-enforceable agreement, and I think what is important about that is that this cannot end until the court finds that the terms of the agreement have been fully met, and so nobody can walk from this agreement, and so it outlives all of us," Lucero said.
Why you should care:
A federal investigation by the United States Department of Justice also concluded that Minneapolis police engaged in a "pattern and practice" of discriminatory policing. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the findings of its own two year investigation in June 2023, just months after MPD entered into the consent decree with the state.
The state and federal investigations outlined numerous failures by the department when it came to the use of force, supervision and accountability.
"So you have a city of Minneapolis that has findings at the state and federal level for violations of race-based policing and constitutional policing problems," Lucero said.
What's next:
It appeared Minneapolis would be operating on two consent decrees after MPD reached a settlement with the DOJ in late 2024, during the last days of the Biden Administration.
However, the Trump Administration has successfully delayed the implementation of the court-enforceable agreement several times this year.
"Whether or not that consent decree gets entered by the court is yet to be determined at this point," Lucero said.
A decision on whether to pursue a consent decree is expected this week.
By the numbers:
Lucero acknowledges that reforming policies and practices inside MPD is taking longer than expected.
We're still using the same use of force policy that we were using five years ago," Lucero said. "That is very frustrating to me."
A shortage of officers is also hindering the pace of those reforms. In a recent progress report submitted to the court, the department revealed that more than eleven-hundred use of force cases still need to be reviewed by supervisors, as required under the agreement with the state.
"Many of them said how frustrated they were to see people not being held accountable for things that... they knew they should be held accountable for it," Lucero said. " It wasn't good for the officers themselves."
The progress reports also revealed that officers are frustrated with the length of the policy manual, which makes police work more "cumbersome" at a time when they are already struggling to put enough officers out on the streets.
Big picture view:
Lucero said the officers need more support to implement the needed reforms inside the department.
"It can't all be on MPD,"she said.
Chief Brian O'Hara said "that's why we have consent decrees."
"We have to be better at supporting the health and wellness of our officers," he said. "We have to be better at providing them better training…so they are equipped to respond appropriately and give them better direction at what we expect."
As for the pace of those changes and improvements, Lucero said they are making progress even it is hard to see at times.
"A lot of times, community members will say, 'I don't feel like they're making enough progress,' or even officers might say that sometimes." Lucero said. "The work continues no matter what."