The Justice Department announced on Wednesday its intention to drop police-accountability agreements with Minneapolis and Louisville, effectively ending the Biden administration's efforts to reform law enforcement in cities where high-profile officer-involved killings sparked widespread outrage. Harmeet K. Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, revealed that the government would also be closing investigations initiated during the Biden era that uncovered constitutional violations by various local police departments, including those in Phoenix, Memphis, and Oklahoma City.
This announcement comes just days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's death at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis in 2020—an incident that ignited global racial justice protests. Dhillon expressed her concerns regarding the viability of the consent decrees in court, labeling the agreements with Minneapolis and Louisville as “reliant on faulty legal theories.”
Despite the federal government stepping back, local leaders in Minneapolis and Louisville have committed to continuing their policing reforms. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated, “We will implement every reform outlined in the consent decree.” The Minnesota Department of Human Rights, the state body that established a separate consent decree with Minneapolis, reaffirmed on Wednesday that their agreement “isn’t going anywhere.”
Dhillon's decision to abandon the federal agreements is part of a broader initiative to reshape the civil rights division, shifting the focus away from racial discrimination toward investigating antisemitism on college campuses and examining diversity initiatives opposed by the Trump administration. Since Dhillon's appointment last month, approximately half of the division's attorneys have departed.
During President Joe Biden’s tenure, the Justice Department advocated for increased federal scrutiny of police practices, launching numerous investigations into local and state police agencies. However, by the end of Biden's term in January, only Minneapolis and Louisville had reached consent agreements, both of which were pending judicial approval. Federal officials, alongside advocates for police accountability, have described these consent decrees as crucial for ensuring that troubled police departments implement meaningful reforms.
Conversely, critics of consent decrees, such as police unions and certain local officials, argue that these agreements can be financially burdensome and may not yield consistent results. During President Donald Trump’s administration, the Justice Department adopted a more lenient stance on local police investigations and actively sought to minimize the use of consent decrees.
The agreements in Louisville and Minneapolis stemmed from extensive investigations that revealed unconstitutional behavior, including excessive force and discrimination against residents. The proposed consent decree for Louisville was first announced in December, nearly five years after the police shooting of Breonna Taylor led to sustained protests. U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton, nominated by Trump, has expressed skepticism about the need for court-mediated agreements, suggesting that both sides may reach a resolution independently. A hearing on this matter is scheduled for Friday morning.
In contrast, no hearings have yet been held regarding the Minneapolis consent decree, which was introduced in January. The Minneapolis police department is already subject to a separate settlement with a state agency, mandating changes to its operations. This is an evolving story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
