Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that a Justice Department investigation into the conduct of the Minneapolis Police Department and the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota following the May 2020 death of George Floyd has uncovered evidence of the use of excessive force and racial discrimination.
Garland said there is “reasonable cause to believe that the MPD and the city of Minneapolis engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the First and Fourth Amendments of the United States Constitution.”
“We found that MPD and the city of Minneapolis engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, unlawfully discriminating against Black or Native American people in enforcement activities, violating the rights of people engaged in protective speech, and discriminating against people with behavioral disabilities when responding to them in crisis,” Garland said.
The Justice Department’s “pattern or practice” investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department was launched in April 2021, a day after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd in the Minnesota city on May 25, 2020.
On Friday, Garland said “As I told Goerge Floyd’s family this morning, his death has had an irrevocable impact on the Minneapolis community, on our county, and on the world. His loss is still felt deeply by those who loved and knew him and by many who did not. George Floyd should be alive today.”
During the federal investigation, Garland said “We observed many MPD officers who did their difficult work with professionalism, courage and respect,” but he added that the “patterns and practices we observed made what happen to George Floyd possible.”
“A 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 are talking right now,'” Garland said.
He added that investigators also found multiple instances of Chauvin using excessive force on others before he killed Floyd. During those instances, MPD officers stood by and did not stop Chauvin, according to Garland.
The attorney general also said the Justice Department found that MPD “often uses excessive force often when no force is necessary, including unjust deadly force and unreasonable use of tasers. MPD officers discharged firearms at people without assessing whether the person presents any threat, let alone a threat that would justify deadly force.”
He cited a 2017 case in which an unarmed woman – who had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault in a nearby alley – was shot and killed by an officer who said she had “spooked him.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
