Latest news with #George Floyd
The Guardian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
DoJ moves to cancel police reform settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville
The justice department moved on Wednesday to cancel a settlement with Minneapolis that called for an overhaul of its police department following the murder of George Floyd, as well as a similar agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, after the death of Breonna Taylor, saying it does not want to pursue the cases. The move shows how the civil rights division of the justice department is changing rapidly under Donald Trump, dismantling Biden-era work and investigating diversity programs. It also comes amid pressure on the right to recast Floyd's murder, undermine diversity efforts and define liberal-run cities like Minneapolis as crime-ridden. Following a scathing report by the justice department in 2023, Minneapolis in January approved a consent decree with the federal government in the final days of the Biden administration to overhaul its training and use-of-force policies under court supervision. The agreement required approval from a federal court in Minnesota. But the Trump administration was granted a delay soon after taking office while it considered its options, and on Wednesday told the court it does not intend to proceed. It planned to file a similar motion in federal court in Kentucky. 'After an extensive review by current Department of Justice and Civil Rights Division leadership, the United States no longer believes that the proposed consent decree would be in the public interest,' said the Minnesota motion, signed by Andrew Darlington, acting chief of the special litigation section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. 'The United States will no longer prosecute this matter.' Trump has generally opposed the use of consent decrees, through which the government has threatened lawsuits against police forces and then entered into reform agreements. Harmeet Dhillon, the Trump ally who oversees the now-gutted civil rights division of the justice department, said in a statement that 'overbroad police consent decrees divest local control of policing from communities where it belongs, turning that power over to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, often with an anti-police agenda.' The department said it would also be ending investigations or retracting findings of constitutional violations into police departments in Phoenix, Arizona; Trenton, New Jersey; Memphis, Tennessee; Mount Vernon, New York; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and the Louisiana state police. The justice department announced its decision just before the five-year anniversary of the murder of Floyd, a Black man. Then officer Derek Chauvin, a white man, used his knee on 25 May 2020, to pin Floyd to the pavement for 9.5 minutes in a case that sparked protests around the world and a national reckoning with racism and police brutality. In Louisville, the consent degree came after Breonna Taylor, a Black woman, was killed by police when they forced their way into her apartment in 2020. Similar to Floyd, Taylor's death sparked protests. The decree had not yet been approved by a judge. However, no immediate changes are expected to affect the Minneapolis police department, which is operating under a similar consent decree with the Minnesota human rights epartment. It also comes as rightwing figures have pushed for a pardon for Chauvin, who was convicted of state and federal charges. Democratic governor Tim Walz said last week that the state should be prepared for a federal pardon from Trump, but that he had no indication one was forthcoming. 'If Donald Trump exercises his constitutional right to do so, whether I agree – and I strongly disagree with him – if he issues that pardon we will simply transfer Derek Chauvin to serve out his 22-and-a-half years in prison in Minnesota,' Walz said, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune. 'So, no indication whether they're going to do it or not, but I think it behooves us to be prepared for it. With this presidency, it seems like that might be something they would do.' Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara reiterated at a news conference on Tuesday that his department would abide by the terms of the federal agreement as it was signed, regardless of what the Trump administration decided. The city in 2023 reached a settlement agreement with the state human rights department to remake policing, under court supervision, after the agency issued a blistering report in 2022 that found that police had long engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination. 'We will implement every reform outlined in the consent decree,' Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement. Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg said on X that the city would move forward with its own reform plan, despite the likely dismissal of the proposed decree. The city will take community input and select an independent monitor, putting in place accountability and transparency measures to rebuild trust in public safety, Greenberg said. 'I made a promise to our community, and we are keeping that promise with this agreement,' he continued. Associated Press contributed reporting
Globe and Mail
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
U.S. abandons police reform accords sought over deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor
The U.S. Justice Department is abandoning efforts to secure court-approved settlements with Minneapolis and Louisville, despite its prior finding that police in both cities routinely violated the civil rights of Black people, a senior official said on Wednesday. Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the department's Civil Rights Division, said her office will seek to dismiss the pending litigation against the two cities and retract the department's prior findings of constitutional violations. 'Overbroad police consent decrees divest local control of policing from communities where it belongs, turning that power over to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, often with an anti-police agenda,' Dhillon said in a statement. She also announced that the department will be closing out investigations and retracting prior findings of wrongdoing against the police departments in Phoenix, Arizona, Memphis, Tennessee, Trenton, New Jersey, Mount Vernon, New York, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and the Louisiana State Police. The move comes four days before the May 25 five-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer who knelt on his neck as Floyd repeatedly pleaded that he couldn't breathe. Floyd's killing, as well as the killing of Breonna Taylor who was shot to death by Louisville Police executing a no-knock warrant, sparked worldwide protests about racially-motivated policing practices during the final year of President Donald Trump's first term in office. Louisville and Minneapolis were the two most high-profile cities to be investigated during former Democratic President Joe Biden's administration for systemic police abuse, and were the only two cities that agreed in principle to enter into a court-approved settlement with the DOJ known as a consent decree. Minneapolis also separately entered a similar type of settlement with the state of Minnesota to reform its police practices. Congress authorized the Justice Department to conduct civil investigations into constitutional abuses by police, such as excessive use of force or racially-motivated policing, in 1994, as a response to the beating of Rodney King, a Black man, by white Los Angeles police officers. During Biden's presidency, the Civil Rights Division launched 12 such 'pattern or practice' investigations into police departments including Phoenix, New York City, Trenton, Memphis and Lexington, Mississippi. But during those four years it failed to enter into any court-binding consent decrees, an issue that legal experts warned could put the department's police accountability work at risk of being undone. Under Dhillon's leadership, the Civil Rights Division has lost more than 100 of its attorneys through deferred resignation agreements, demotions and resignations. 'Over 100 attorneys decided that they'd rather not do what their job requires them to do, and I think that's fine,' Dhillon told Glenn Beck on his podcast on April 26. Last month, Dhillon demoted senior attorneys who handled police abuse investigations to other low-level assignments, such as handling public records requests or adjudicating internal discrimination complaints. Those moves are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to upend the Civil Rights Division's traditions of pursuing cases to protect the civil rights of some of the country's most vulnerable and historically disenfranchised populations. Since January, it has paused probes of alleged police abuse, launched its first investigation into whether Los Angeles violated gun rights laws, and following Trump's lead, changed the department's stance on transgender rights and probed alleged antisemitism at U.S. colleges involving pro-Palestinian protesters. The department also recently ended a decades-old school desegregation order in Louisiana that came about in the wake of the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education case.
Washington Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Justice Department moves to cancel police reform settlements reached with Minneapolis and Louisville
MINNEAPOLIS — The Justice Department moved Wednesday to cancel a settlement with Minneapolis that called for an overhaul of its police department following the murder of George Floyd, as well as a similar agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, saying it doesn't want to pursue the cases. Following a scathing report by the Justice Department in 2023, Minneapolis in January approved a consent decree with the federal government in the final days of the Biden administration to overhaul its training and use-of-force policies under court supervision. The agreement required approval from a federal court in Minnesota. But the Trump administration was granted a delay soon after taking office while it considered its options, and on Wednesday told the court it does not intend to proceed. It planned to file a similar motion in federal court in Kentucky. 'After an extensive review by current Department of Justice and Civil Rights Division leadership, the United States no longer believes that the proposed consent decree would be in the public interest,' said the Minnesota motion, signed by Andrew Darlington, acting chief of the special litigation section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. 'The United States will no longer prosecute this matter.' The Justice Department announced its decision just before the five-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Then-officer Derek Chauvin used his knee on May 25, 2020, to pin the Black man to the pavement for 9 1/2 minutes in a case that sparked protests around the world and a national reckoning with racism and police brutality. However, no immediate changes are expected to affect the Minneapolis Police Department, which is operating under a similar consent decree with the Minnesota Human Rights Department. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara reiterated at a news conference Tuesday that his department would abide by the terms of the federal agreement as it was signed, regardless of what the Trump administration decided. The city in 2023 reached a settlement agreement with the state Human Rights Department to remake policing, under court supervision, after the agency issued a blistering report in 2022 that found that police had long engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination.
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Justice Department moves to cancel police reform settlements reached with Minneapolis and Louisville
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department moved Wednesday to cancel a settlement with Minneapolis that called for an overhaul of its police department following the murder of George Floyd, as well as a similar agreement with Louisville, Kentucky, saying it doesn't want to pursue the cases. Following a scathing report by the Justice Department in 2023, Minneapolis in January approved a consent decree with the federal government in the final days of the Biden administration to overhaul its training and use-of-force policies under court supervision. The agreement required approval from a federal court in Minnesota. But the Trump administration was granted a delay soon after taking office while it considered its options, and on Wednesday told the court it does not intend to proceed. It planned to file a similar motion in federal court in Kentucky. 'After an extensive review by current Department of Justice and Civil Rights Division leadership, the United States no longer believes that the proposed consent decree would be in the public interest,' said the Minnesota motion, signed by Andrew Darlington, acting chief of the special litigation section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. 'The United States will no longer prosecute this matter.' The Justice Department announced its decision just before the five-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd. Then-officer Derek Chauvin used his knee on May 25, 2020, to pin the Black man to the pavement for 9 1/2 minutes in a case that sparked protests around the world and a national reckoning with racism and police brutality. However, no immediate changes are expected to affect the Minneapolis Police Department, which is operating under a similar consent decree with the Minnesota Human Rights Department. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara reiterated at a news conference Tuesday that his department would abide by the terms of the federal agreement as it was signed, regardless of what the Trump administration decided. The city in 2023 reached a settlement agreement with the state Human Rights Department to remake policing, under court supervision, after the agency issued a blistering report in 2022 that found that police had long engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination.
Forbes
06-05-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Was Health Equity Just A 'Hustle'? A Path Forward
Health equity rose to prominence after the murder of George Floyd. Was it just a fad? getty The last five years ushered in a wave of performative urgency across the healthcare industry—a tidal surge of press releases, C-suite appointments, and purpose-driven campaigns declaring a new era of commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). For many who have spent their careers in the trenches of health disparities work, it felt like a long-awaited reckoning—a rare window to push real, systemic change. But now, with the political winds shifting and legal uncertainties clouding the DEI landscape, many of the loudest voices have gone eerily quiet. Initiatives are quietly being sunset. Equity teams are being dissolved. Former champions have disappeared from panels and podiums. What once appeared to be a movement now feels more like a marketing cycle that expired. It's fair to ask: was health equity just the latest healthcare 'hustle'? Another badge for visibility? A convenient way to be on trend? Many of the early warning signs were there: initiatives announced without infrastructure, funding that never materialized, and leadership roles created without authority or resources. DEI professionals were invited into rooms—but too often not given a voice. They were handed lofty titles, yet asked to color inside predetermined lines. Meanwhile, their organizations basked in applause for appearances, not results. What happened? The generous interpretation is that legal and political pressures forced a change in strategy. But even that framing lets too many leaders off the hook. Because you can alter rhetoric without abandoning values. You can evolve your messaging without walking away from your mission. The truth is more uncomfortable: some organizations weren't ever serious about this work to begin with. They were renting values, not owning them. Let's not sugarcoat this moment. Many health equity leaders feel betrayed. They feel used. And they're right to feel that way. Because what's at stake isn't just credibility—it's people's lives. Vulnerable communities that experience the harshest disparities in health outcomes don't have the luxury of waiting for politics to stabilize or organizational priorities to realign. So, where do we go from here? 1. Stay the Course—Even If the Spotlight Is Gone Now is not the time to back down. In fact, real leaders will show themselves in what they do now , when the noise has died down and the easy accolades are gone. Organizations that meant what they said should continue to drive toward health equity goals however they are described—if necessary, under new language or frameworks. Call it quality. Call it population health. Call it patient-centeredness. But don't stop doing the work just because the branding changed. Leadership is not about doing what's popular—it's about doing what's right, even when it's uncomfortable. 2. Demand Accountability—for Past Commitments and Present Silence We cannot normalize the kind of strategic amnesia now unfolding across healthcare. When organizations made bold pronouncements in 2020, they weren't just symbolic gestures—they were public commitments. And commitments matter. It's time to ask the uncomfortable questions: What happened to your health equity agenda? Why are your equity leaders gone? Where did the funding go? Accountability can't just be a checkbox either. It must come from within—employees asking hard questions, boards demanding metrics, and media keeping score. But it should also come from the outside: regulators, ratings agencies, and partners should continue to weigh equity when evaluating organizational performance. We've long accepted metrics for financial health. Why not ethical health? 3. Integrate Equity into the Broader Healthcare Fix The biggest opportunity we've missed is also our most urgent one: integrating the health equity conversation into broader healthcare reform. The same systemic issues—misaligned incentives, fragmented care, access barriers, clinician burnout—that fail everyone fail the most vulnerable people first and worst. Equity isn't a separate issue. It's the canary in the coal mine . Fixing equity and fixing healthcare are not competing goals—they are convergent ones. If we design a system that works for the most complex, marginalized patients, we design a system that is better for everyone. A Final Word So yes, some of what we saw over the past few years was performative. Some of it was opportunistic. Some of it was a hustle. But it wasn't for everyone and we can't afford to let our cynicism dictate the future. Because while some leaders may be done with health equity, health equity isn't done with us. The disparities are still there. The patients are still suffering. The trust is still broken. And our obligation remains—especially if we want to call ourselves a just and compassionate healthcare system. Real leadership in this moment isn't loud. It's consistent. It's not in the spotlight. It's in the follow-through. And it doesn't waver when the applause and recognition stops.
