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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Minnesota Department of Human Rights released the findings of its investigation into the city of Minneapolis and its police department Wednesday morning, finding a pattern of race-based discrimination over the last decade.
“Following its investigation, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights finds that the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department engage in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act,” the findings state.
BREAKING: The Minnesota Department of Human Rights finds the City of Minneapolis and MPD engaged in a pattern or practice of race discrimination over the last ten years.
A press conference is expected at 11 today to discuss findings. #WCCO @WCCO
— Adam Duxter (@AdamDuxter) April 27, 2022
The investigation was announced after former MPD officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in May 2020.
MORE: The Chauvin Verdict: A Look At What’s Changed 1 Year On
The department looked at the last 10 years of practices, policies and procedures within MPD. This was the first state civil rights investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department in history.
The specific examples of “discriminatory, race-based policing” the report found were:
– “Racial disparities in how MPD officers use force, stop, search, arrest, and cite people of color, particularly Black individuals, compared to white individuals in similar circumstances.”
– “MPD officers’ use of covert social media to surveil Black individuals and Black organizations, unrelated to criminal activity.”
– “MPD officers’ consistent use of racist, misogynistic, and disrespectful language.”
Read the full report
The report found that of the 14 people Minneapolis police have killed since 2010, 13 were people of color or Indigenous people. Those individuals represent just 42% of the city’s population, but comprise 93% of killings by Minneapolis police between Jan. 1, 2010 and Feb. 2, 2022 — the date an MPD officer shot and killed Amir Locke.
“In other words,” the report states, “MPD officers have disproportionately killed community members of color and Indigenous community members.”
A use-of-force review found Minneapolis police were more likely to use both neck restraints and chemical irritants on Black people than white people in similar circumstances — in the former case, nearly twice as likely. Overall, the report found Minneapolis police used “unnecessary and inappropriate force” in more than half of the instances in which they used neck restraints, and more than a third of chemical irritant uses. That’s across individuals of all ethnic backgrounds.
Investigators found the causes of the race-based policing to be an “organizational culture” in which:
– “MPD officers, supervisors, and field training officers receive deficient training, which emphasizes a paramilitary approach to policing that results in officers unnecessarily escalating encounters or using inappropriate levels of force.”
– “Accountability systems are insufficient and ineffective at holding officers accountable for misconduct.”
– “Former and current City and MPD leaders have not collectively acted with the urgency, coordination, and intentionality necessary to address racial disparities in policing to improve public safety and increase community trust.”
The investigation included review of more than 700 hours of body camera footage and 480,000 pages of documents, as well as observation of 87 hours of training footage and multiple ride-alongs.
In addition to interviewing officers from every level of the police department, investigators reviewed statements from more than 2,200 community members about their experiences with Minneapolis police.
Human rights investigators found fault not just with the Minneapolis Police Department, but with city leaders as well.
“While there have been some efforts by current and former City and MPD leaders to implement change, City leaders have not collectively acted with the necessary urgency, coordination, and intentionality that is required to create and maintain a strong public safety system, eliminate discriminatory policing, and maintain an organizational culture that welcomes accountability and oversight. City and MPD leaders have been aware of deep organizational culture problems within the MPD resulting in the long-standing, disproportionate impact of race-based policing on people of color and Indigenous individuals. In the vacuum of collective action from key City and MPD leaders, the organizational culture at MPD has existed unchecked.”
The Department of Human Rights said it will now work with the city to develop a consent decree — a list of court-enforceable changes to be made along with timelines for those to occur.
Before then, though, the Department of Human Rights outlined three things the city and its police department can do to affect change right now: improve police accountability and oversight, improve the quality of training and “communicate honestly with members of the public.”
“Race-based policing is unlawful and especially harms people of color and Indigenous individuals–sometimes costing community members their lives,” the report states. “Without fundamental organizational culture changes, reforming MPD’s policies, procedures, and trainings will be meaningless.”
The full findings can be read on the Department of Human Rights website. Department officials were expected to give a press conference at 11 a.m. following the release of the findings.
Last year, Chauvin was convicted of murdering Floyd and sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights in a federal case. In February of this year, a federal jury found three other former officers — Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng — guilty of violating Floyd’s rights. The officers’ state trial is scheduled to begin June 13.
The United States Department of Justice is also investigating the Minneapolis Police Department.
Source: CBS
