DOJ finds Minneapolis police show pattern of violating rights

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department accused Minneapolis police Friday of engaging in a pattern of violating constitutional rights and discriminating against Black and Native American people following an investigation prompted by the killing of George Floyd.

The sweeping two-year civil rights investigation concluded that systemic problems in the Minneapolis Police Department “made what happened to George Floyd possible.”

The investigation found that Minneapolis officers used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force,” and violated the rights of people engaged in constitutionally protected speech.

The probe also found that both Minneapolis police and the city discriminated against people with “behavioral health disabilities” when officers are called for help.

As a result, the city and the police department agreed to a deal known as a federal consent decree, which will require reforms to be overseen by an independent monitor and approved by a federal judge. That arrangement is similar to reform efforts in Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri.

“For years, MPD used dangerous techniques and weapons against people who committed at most a petty offense and sometimes no offense at all,” the report said. Police “used force to punish people who made officers angry or criticized the police.”

Officers “patrolled neighborhoods differently based on their racial composition and discriminated based on race when searching, handcuffing, or using force against people during stops,” the report said.