St. Paul, Minn.
The Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern of race discrimination for at least a decade, including stopping and arresting Black people at a higher rate than white people, using force more often on people of color, and maintaining a culture where racist language is tolerated, a state investigation launched after George Floyd’s killing found.
The report released Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights following a nearly two-year investigation said the agency and the city would negotiate a court-enforceable agreement to address the long list of problems identified in the report, with input from residents, officers, city staff, and others.
The report said police department data “demonstrates significant racial disparities with respect to officers’ use of force, traffic stops, searches, citations, and arrests.” And it said officers “used covert social media to surveil Black individuals and Black organizations, unrelated to criminal activity, and maintain an organizational culture where some officers and supervisors use racist, misogynistic, and disrespectful language with impunity.”
Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said during a news conference after the report was released that it doesn’t single out any officers or city leaders.
“This investigation is not about one individual or one incident,” Ms. Lucero said.
Asked how long the agreement with the city, known as a consent decree, might have to remain in force, Ms. Lucero said, “As long as it takes to do it right.” Neither she nor the report laid out a timeline for the negotiations. Consent decrees in federal cases often remain in place for years.
The report said the city and police department “do not need to wait to institute immediate changes to begin to address the causes of discrimination that weaken the City’s public safety system and harm community members.” It listed several steps that the city can take now, including implementing stronger internal oversight to hold officers accountable for their conduct, better training, and better communication with the public about critical incidents such as officer-involved shootings.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he was disturbed by the report and vowed to cooperate with the state to make the needed changes.
“I found the contents to be repugnant, at times horrific,” Mr. Frey said at a news conference. “It made me sick to my stomach and outraged, and I think that our community feels the same way. … I talked with leaders from our Black community this morning, and they’re not surprised at all. They’ve been saying this for years, for decades, and for generations.”
Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman told reporters the points raised in the report are “deeply concerning to everyone.” But she said her department has been moving forward with reforms in the two years since the investigation began and isn’t going to wait to make further changes.
“We’re committed to providing effective, constitutional police service, the service that people across our community want and need a