By STEVE KARNOWSKI
The Minneapolis City Council approved an agreement with the state on Friday to renew policing, nearly three years after a city officer killed George Floyd.
City officials agreed to broker a settlement after the Department of Human Rights issued a searing report last year that said the police department had engaged in a pattern of racial profiling for at least a decade. The City Council approved the legally enforceable agreement on Friday.
The state agency launched its investigation shortly after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes, ignoring the black man’s pleas that he couldn’t breathe. Floyd’s death sparked massive protests that spread across the world. He forced a national reckoning over racial injustice and forced the Minneapolis Police Department to begin a review.
Chauvin was later convicted of murder. He and three other officers who were on the scene are now serving prison terms.
The US Department of Justice is still investigating whether Minneapolis police engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination, and that investigation could lead to a separate consent decree with the city.
The state settlement, which still requires court approval, runs to more than 130 pages. Contains sections governing the use of force; stops, searches and arrests; the use of body and dash cameras; training; welfare of officers; respond to behavioral and mental health crises; and others. Requires the appointment of an independent evaluator to monitor compliance.
