After the killing of George Floyd, police training and use-of-force policies will be reviewed in Minneapolis

The Minneapolis City Council on Monday unanimously approved an agreement with the federal government to revise the city’s policy on police training and the use of force in response to police killings in 2020 George Floyd.

The settlement includes and builds on changes made by Minneapolis police after former officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of killing Floyd after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020, sparking riots the whole country.

The agreement, known as a consent decree, requires officers to “promote the sanctity of human life as the highest priority in their operations” and “perform their law enforcement duties with professionalism and respect for the dignity of each individual.”

Officers must not allow race, gender or ethnicity to “influence any decision to use force, including the amount or type of force used.”

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Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, flanked by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (left) and Chief Brian O’Hara of the Minneapolis Police Department, speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Courthouse in Minneapolis on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP)

The agreement envisages placing the police department on long-term judicial supervision. The department was already in talks with the federal government after the Justice Department issued a sharp rebuke of Minneapolis police in 2023.

After a two-year investigation, the Justice Department accused the department of engaging in systematic racial discrimination, violating the constitutional rights and disregarding the safety of people in custody for years before Floyd’s death. The Justice Department said the officers used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force,” and violated First Amendment free speech rights.

“George Floyd’s death was not just a tragedy, it was a galvanizing force for the city and the nation,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, head of the Department of Justice’s civil rights division, said at a press conference on Monday. “All eyes remain on Minneapolis, and with this consent decree, we now have a road map for reform that will help this community heal while building trust between law enforcement and the people they serve.”

The Minneapolis City Council has approved an agreement with the federal government to review the city’s police training and use-of-force policies in response to the killing of George Floyd. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

An independent monitor will monitor changes in police training and policy, which must be approved by a judge.

“I want to thank our community for coming together, coming together in this, and for being patient with us as we’ve been through a very, very long, difficult journey,” City Council President Elliott Payne said Monday after voting. “We’re just getting started, and we know we have a long way to go. Our success will only be realized when we all work together on what is perhaps one of the most important issues in the life of our city.”

In 2023, a state court approved a similar agreement between Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights after the agency released its own report a year earlier. A state investigation found that city ​​police participated in racial discrimination for at least ten years.

The Justice Department has launched 12 similar investigations of state and local law enforcement agencies across the country since April 2021, including many in response to high-profile police killings. If approved by the courts, the Justice Department will oversee 16 police “schemes and practices” across the country.

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Council President Eliot Payne (center) and the Minneapolis City Council vote to go into closed session immediately after the start of session to discuss a federal executive order reforming the Minneapolis Police Department, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP)

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The Justice Department reached settlements with Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore, Chicago and Ferguson, Missouri. A plea agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, in connection with the police killing of Breona Taylor is pending court approval. The mayor of Memphis, Tenn., rejected efforts to pass a consent decree last month, arguing that the city has seen many positive changes since the death of Tyre Nichols.

During his first administration, President-elect Donald Trump criticized consent decrees as anti-police.

The agreement in Minneapolis become final before Trump returns to office later this month, it will be difficult for him to stop the deal, as changes would require court approval.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.