Trump DOJ Cancels Minneapolis, Louisville Police Reform Deals/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The Justice Department under President Trump is seeking to dismiss court-enforced police reform settlements in Minneapolis and Louisville. The consent decrees were initiated after George Floyd’s murder and years of police misconduct. State-level reforms in Minnesota are expected to continue.
Police Reform Rollback Quick Looks
- DOJ Motion Filed: U.S. moves to cancel federal reform pacts in Minneapolis and Louisville
- Trump DOJ Position: Agreements “no longer in the public interest”
- Background: Federal investigations found patterns of civil rights violations
- Minneapolis Agreement: Initiated post-Floyd, focused on force and training reforms
- Louisville Agreement: Stemmed from Breonna Taylor case and DOJ review
- State-Level Oversight: Minnesota’s own court-enforced agreement remains active
- MPD Response: Police chief says department will still honor reforms
- Timing: Decision announced days before George Floyd’s death anniversary
- Human Rights Response: Minnesota vows continued court-supervised changes
- Civil Rights Concerns: Critics say move undermines years of progress
Deep Look: Justice Department Seeks to End Federal Police Reform in Two Cities
MINNEAPOLIS — May 21, 2025 — The U.S. Justice Department has moved to terminate two high-profile police reform agreements in Minneapolis and Louisville, marking a significant reversal of post-George Floyd federal oversight efforts and triggering immediate backlash from civil rights leaders.
In filings made Wednesday in federal courts in Minnesota and Kentucky, DOJ lawyers requested the dismissal of consent decrees designed to overhaul police training, accountability, and use-of-force policies under judicial supervision.
“The United States no longer believes that the proposed consent decree would be in the public interest,” read the motion from Andrew Darlington, acting chief of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.
The federal move comes nearly five years after the murder of George Floyd, whose death beneath a Minneapolis officer’s knee ignited a global protest movement and widespread calls to end systemic racism in law enforcement.
Reform Rollbacks Signal New Federal Direction
The Biden administration’s Justice Department spent over two years investigating misconduct in Minneapolis and Louisville, eventually negotiating binding reform plans aimed at systemic change. But under President Donald Trump, the DOJ is now retreating from those efforts.
The agreements, finalized just before Trump returned to office, required final court approval — a process Trump’s DOJ paused in early 2025. Now, they are seeking to permanently abandon the deals.
“The United States will no longer prosecute this matter,” DOJ officials wrote in their Minneapolis filing.
A similar motion was planned for Louisville, where Breonna Taylor’s 2020 killing by police during a botched raid led to a federal review and similar reform plans.
State of Minnesota Will Proceed Without Federal Backing
Despite the federal withdrawal, Minneapolis police reform is not dead.
The city remains bound by a separate agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR), which conducted its own independent investigation and found deep-rooted racial bias in MPD practices.
“Under the state agreement, the City and MPD must make transformational changes to address race-based policing,” said Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero.
Lucero vowed her agency would continue supervising reforms, describing the federal withdrawal as a setback — but not a derailment.
“The tremendous amount of work that lies ahead for the City, including MPD, cannot be understated,” she said.
Police Department Response: Reform Will Continue
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, speaking at a press event Tuesday, reaffirmed the department’s intent to follow through with changes outlined in the now-canceled federal agreement.
“We signed it in good faith,” O’Hara said. “That hasn’t changed.”
The reforms include overhauls to use-of-force protocols, training standards, community engagement, and internal discipline — changes advocates say are critical to rebuilding public trust.
Community and Legal Reaction
Local and national advocacy groups condemned the DOJ’s decision, saying it sends the wrong message just days before the May 25 anniversary of Floyd’s death.
The 2023 DOJ report on Minneapolis found longstanding civil rights violations, including discriminatory policing against Black residents and routine use of excessive force. In Louisville, similar conclusions followed the Breonna Taylor investigation, prompting federal intervention.
The shift under Trump echoes earlier moves in his first term to reduce federal oversight of police departments, including scaling back Obama-era consent decrees in Baltimore, Chicago, and Ferguson.
Context: How We Got Here
- May 2020: George Floyd killed by MPD officer Derek Chauvin
- March 2023: DOJ concludes MPD had “pattern or practice” of civil rights violations
- January 2024: Minneapolis and DOJ reach consent decree; Louisville finalizes similar agreement
- January 2025: Trump returns to White House; DOJ begins reviewing all federal oversight cases
- May 2025: DOJ files motions to abandon reform plans
You must Register or Login to post a comment.