The Minneapolis Police Department, whose officers killed George Floyd in 2020, was found to use “excessive force” and discriminate against Black and Indigenous peoples, according to a Department of Justice probe.
The DOJ on Friday released the nearly 100-page findings of their federal investigation, which was opened in April 2021, nearly a year after Floyd’s death at the hands of ex-cop Derek Chauvin.
The department said it has “reasonable cause to believe that the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law.”
Among the “systemic problems” identified were the use of “excessive force, including unjustified deadly force,” as well as a history of “unlawfully discriminat[ing] against Black and Native American people in its enforcement activities.”
Both Minneapolis and its department also “discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to calls for assistance” and the latter “violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech,” per DOJ findings. The report also pointed to shootings by other MPD officers in the years preceding Floyd’s death.
The findings noted that the federal investigation covered the entirety of the department rather than individual officers, with the report stating that “many MPD officers do their difficult work with professionalism, courage, and respect.
“Nevertheless, our investigation found that the systemic problems in MPD made what happened to George Floyd possible,” the DOJ continued, noting Minneapolis is home to “stark” racial inequity.
The Justice Department in its report also noted its intention to work with both the city and department.
Floyd was killed on Memorial Day 2020 when white cop Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neckfor the better part of 10 minutes, leaving the unarmed Black man unable to breathe. Three other cops stood by watching Chauvin, who was convicted of Floyd’s murder the following April.
Floyd’s death and other incidents like it quickly reignited the Black Lives Matter movement.