DOJ Report Exposes Minneapolis Police Civil Rights Violations Amid Call for Community-Led Reforms

Robin I also want to ask you about the latest news coming as the justice department has accused the Minneapolis Police Department of disproportionately targeting black and Native American people and frequently using excessive and lawful use of force the findings come an investigation launched after the police killing of George Floyd in May of 2020. Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke Friday patterns and practices we observed made what

happened to George Floyd possible as one city leader told us quote these systemic issues didn't just occur on May 25th 2020. there were instances like that that were being reported by the community long before that Robin wansley your response is a long time Minneapolis organizer and activist as a Minneapolis now city council member yeah yeah um is very interesting to hear you know Merrick Garland again

share those findings um and hearing that in contrast we're talking about the Minnesota Miracle 2.0 because since George Floyd's murder um what we've experienced here in Minneapolis has been nothing close to a miracle but it has felt like a Minneapolis nightmare under the fry Administration specifically um under mayor fries Administration which I will note you know the doj findings um or investigation period took place from

2016 to 2022 the entire tinger of the mayor fries Administration we also a year ago had the investigation be led by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights that also found that MPD Minneapolis Police Department had engaged in a violent racist and misogynistic series of powers and practices against residents um and that investigation fell within 2010 to 2020 so about three years of Mayor Fry's tenure as

mayor and over the course of his entire tenure mayor fry has remained the sole executive authority over MPD and the findings have made it clear that he turned the Blind Eye to uh Rogue violent and racist Police Department um as well as I want to say Council um that is noted in the Minnesota Department of the human human rights findings as well that council members um

some of those are still there today turned the Blind Eye to the police department that led to not only the events of George Floyd but acknowledging that there is dozens of victims uh prior to George Floyd and even afterwards so I want to name you know and mayor Garland said this himself for residents here in Minneapolis the findings that were um you know released from the

doj as well as the Minnesota Department of Human Rights have have they're not new they're not surprising this has been the reality of Working Class People especially black and brown and indigenous working-class folks in our city for decades and our elected officials have ignored the pleas and the cries and the testimonies of those communities when they talked repeatedly about the violence they experienced at the hands

of the police um and instead what we're seeing is a fry Administration that is still ramming through um a status quo model of policing most recently he struck he's trying to push through the rebuilding of the third precinct despite opposition from the the public around that um we've had taxpayers have to Fork over you know more than 50 million dollars and uh misconduct settlement cases that

police have caused um taxpayers have also had to pay over 60 million dollars and workers comp uh compensation claims that MPD officers have used um as a way to flee the police department as it undergoes or are being mandated to undergo these robust reforms by now the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the Department of Justice um so in light of that again none of this

is new but what I think is most um most important in these conversations is again this has had this has happened under mayor Fry's tenure mayor fry has repeatedly shown as indicated in these findings that he is not competent and exercising his authority to hold our racist and misogynist this Police Department accountable and as a result of that and as a result of community members persistently

organizing for a new model of comprehensive Public Safety that do things like what's highlighted in the doj report as well as the Minnesota Department of Human Rights like spreading mental health responders the community should be at the table for this consent decree around the doj and Robin wansley we're going to continue this conversation but we have to end right now Minneapolis city council member thanks so

much for joining us also Peter Callahan staff writer at the men post