Washington - The Justice Department said Wednesday it is beginning to dismiss lawsuits against the police department in Louisville, Kentucky and Minneapolis, Minnesota, thus ending an investigation initiated during the administration of former President Joe Biden. It will also end the proposed liability agreement with the department.
The Trump administration said the Biden administration's consent order attempts to make the Louisville and Minneapolis police departments comply with propaganda terms beyond the allegations and would result in "micro-management" of local departments.
Start after federal participation begins George Floyd exist Minneapolis police and Breonna Taylor exist Louisville Police Shot in 2020.
"More than a dozen police officers agree to rule to remove control of policing from the communities they belong to, turning that power into unelected and irresponsible bureaucracy," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. "Today, we are ending a failed experiment in Biden's civil rights division, which is to wear local leadership and police departments through actual unreasonable consent ordinance." ”
In addition to taking steps to dismiss the lawsuit against the Louisville and Minneapolis Police Departments, the Trump administration also said it is closing an investigation into the Phoenix Police Department. Trenton, NJ; Memphis; Mount Vernon, NY; Oklahoma City and Louisiana State Police. The Trump administration said it is revoking the results of the Biden administration's investigation into constitutional violations in eight naming departments.
The Justice Department decided to file a lawsuit against the Louisville and Minneapolis departments just days before Floyd's death. Former Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin is Convicted in state court Crimes about murder and manslaughter of Floyd Enfession In federal civil rights cases.
The Justice Department attorney said in a filing against the Minnesota federal court in Minneapolis that the government “will no longer sue the matter.”
"After extensive review by the current Justice Department and the Civil Rights Department's leadership bureau, the United States no longer believes that the proposed consent order will be in the public interest," the document signed by Dhillon and others read.
Consent decrees were used in federal investigations into law enforcement agencies during the Obama administration as part of a renewed commitment to civil rights issues and policing responsibilities. But the Justice Department restricted their use during the first Trump administration. The policy was revoked during the Biden administration. General Merrick Garland, then the then-Gen. Merrick Garland then investigated the Minneapolis Police Department.
this Years-long inspection The Justice Department, established in 2021 by Floyd's death, founded that the Minneapolis Police Department disproportionately used unreasonable force in many cases.
The investigation is conducted to determine whether the department is engaged in “models or practices” of unconstitutional or illegal policing. The civil investigation is separate from the federal criminal investigation into Floyd's death, which led to convictions of three Minneapolis police officers who were found unable to intervene to prevent Chauvin from using force against Floyd.
Investigators recommend nearly 30 remedies and improvements to Minneapolis to address racial disparities and excessive use of force in the department, such as enhanced training and accountability measures, and improve data collection for police activities.
The City of Minneapolis and the Department of Justice signed in principle an agreement to reach a court-authorized consent form that would formalize federal investigation results and recommendations and appoint an independent monitor for the police department.
As for the Louisville Police Department, the Justice Department investigation found Possible behavioral patterns This violates citizens' civil and constitutional rights. The Louisville Department of Justice and its police department reached an agreement to agree to the order.
Four Louisville Police Department officials Facing federal charges When Taylor died in March 2020. Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, rushed into her apartment when police officers fell asleep with their boyfriend. Her boyfriend thought the officers were invaders and they fired a handgun as they entered. The responding officer opened 22 photos to the apartment, one of which shot Taylor.
But in announcing the decision to dismiss the lawsuit against the Minneapolis and Louisville Police Department, the Justice Department under President Trump claimed that they accuse the agencies of implementing a constitutional preservation model by “erroneously equating statistical differences with intentional discrimination and relying heavily on flawed methods and incomplete data.
The Trump administration also said that agreeing to the decree goes too far will allow police departments to conduct thorough oversight.
"In short, these sweeping consent ordinances will micromanage local police departments through federal courts and expensive independent monitors, and have the potential to conduct hundreds of millions of dollars in compliance costs without the law or actually doing so adequately," the Justice Department said.