The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a sweeping police reform agreement for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD).
The binding agreement comes nearly three years after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd while on duty.
- The Minnesota Department of Human Rights began an investigation into the MPD following Floyd's murder.
- The investigation culminated with the publication of a scathing report, according to which the MPD had engaged in systemically racist policing practices for at least a decade.
- The
agreement announced on Friday sets restrictions on the use of force by
police, as well as new protocols for stop and search, training, and the
use of body cameras, chemical irritants, and Tasers.
- It calls for the appointment of an independent evaluator to monitor compliance with the agreement.
- The agreement still needs judicial approval before it can be officially implemented.
- There is a separate and ongoing Justice Department investigation into whether MPD's policing practices are discriminatory.
- That investigation could lead to a consent decree between the Justice Department and Minneapolis mandating that the city reforms the MPD.
