Court Approves Reforms For Minneapolis Police Department

MINNEAPOLIS — Hennepin County District Court Judge Karen Janisch on Friday approved the court-enforceable agreement between the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the city of Minneapolis over police reform.

The agreement was sought following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers.

Following an investigation, in April 2022, the Human Rights Department announced that the city and MPD engaged in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of Minnesota’s civil rights law.

Under the agreement approved Friday, the department must undergo "transformational changes" to strengthen public safety by addressing discriminatory, race-based policing.

"Today, the court entered the consent decree that was negotiated by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, the City of Minneapolis, and the Minneapolis Police Department," said Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero in a news release.

"With the eyes of the world on Minneapolis, entry of this order reflects this critically important moment in time. The agreement captures the scope of the necessary work ahead to address race-based policing, a plague on our City that harms everyone, especially people of color and Indigenous community members. We, at the Department, are committed to the work that lies ahead."

The court-enforceable agreement — among other things — requires the MPD to:

Require officers to de-escalate

Prohibit officers from using force to punish or retaliate

Prohibit the use of certain pretext stops

Ban searches based on alleged smells of cannabis

Prohibit so-called consent searches during pedestrian or vehicle stops

Limit when officers can use force

Limit when and how officers can use chemical irritants and tasers

Ban “excited delirium” training

Read the entire agreement here.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice — which recently found that the city and MPD are in violation of the Constitution and federal law — is negotiating a federal court-enforceable agreement with the city and MPD to address its findings.