US probe finds racial discrimination, excessive force at Minneapolis Police Department

By Darren Lyn and Michael Hernandez

HOUSTON, United States (AA) - The US Department of Justice released its findings Friday of a two-year investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and the conclusions are damning: MPD uses excessive force and discriminates against Blacks.

"Such conduct is deeply disturbing, and it erodes the community’s trust in law enforcement," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference.

The investigation was prompted by the killing of George Floyd in 2020 by white MPD officer Derek Chauvin who kneeled on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes until he died.

Chauvin and three other officers -- Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng -- are currently serving prison time for their roles in Floyd's killing.

"The Minneapolis Police Department routinely uses excessive force, often when no force is necessary, including unjust deathly force and unreasonable use of tasers," said Garland. "MPD officers discharge firearms at people without assessing whether the person presents any threat, let alone a threat that would justify deadly force."

The report also found that MPD officers discriminated against Native Americans and other people of color, in addition to Blacks.

"We found several incidents in which MPD officers were not held accountable for racist conduct until there was a public outcry," said Garland.

The investigation also revealed that officers routinely disregarded the safety of people in their custody, including using potentially deadly neck restraints, which have since been banned.

"Our review found numerous incidents in which MPD officers responded to a person’s statement that they could not breathe with a version of: 'You can breathe, you’re talking right now,'" said Garland, adding that other officers failed to intervene to prevent unreasonable use of force by fellow officers.

"Years before he killed George Floyd, Derek Chauvin used excessive force on other occasions in which multiple MPD officers stood by and did not stop him," he said.

In the wake of the department's report, the city has agreed to federal oversight as it works to reform the MPD. Officials said negotiating the consent decree with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is expected to take several months.

The Justice Department has negotiated similar agreements in other cities where incidents of police brutality against Black people have occurred, including Ferguson, Missouri; Baltimore, Maryland and Cleveland, Ohio.

"We look forward to working with the city and MPD to achieve meaningful and durable reform," said Garland. "This agreement is an important step toward providing you with the support and resources you need to do your job effectively and lawfully."

US President Joe Biden said the findings of incantational practices "are disturbing and underscore the urgent need for Congress to pass common sense reforms that increase public trust, combat racial discrimination and thereby strengthen public safety."

He urged Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which seeks to bolster police accountability, vowing to sign it into law if it clears the federal legislature. The legislation was passed by the House of Representatives in 2021 in the wake of Floyd's death but stalled in the then-Republican-held Senate.

"I will continue to do everything in my power to fight for police accountability in Congress, and I remain willing to work with Republicans and Democrats alike on genuine solutions," he said.