Justice Department Moves To Drop Police Reform Agreements Tied To Breonna Taylor & George Floyd Killings

Justice Department Moves To Drop Police Reform Agreements Tied To Breonna Taylor & George Floyd Killings

The Justice Department is backing away from two major police reform efforts.

On Wednesday (May 21), the DOJ announced it’s moving to drop consent decrees with Louisville and Minneapolis that were created after federal investigations into the 2020 police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. The court-enforceable agreements were intended to address civil rights violations and unconstitutional policing, but have faced delays in court.

Despite the DOJ’s decision, officials in both cities say they’re pressing forward. Kevin Trager, spokesperson for Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, said,

“Louisville Metro Government and LMPD will move forward and honor our commitment to meaningful improvements and reforms.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey added,

“It’s unfortunate the Trump administration may not be interested in cooperating with us to improve policing and support our community, but make no mistake: we have the tools, the resolve, and the community’s backing to fulfill our promise to the people of Minneapolis. Our work will not be stopped.”

 

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However, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon defended the move, saying,

“Overboard police consent decrees divest local control of policing from communities where it belongs… Today, we are ending the Biden Civil Rights Division’s failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders and police departments with factually unjustified consent decrees.”

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[VIA]