Latest news with #policingReform
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
How federal consent decrees have been used in police reform across the US
The Justice Department announced Wednesday it was canceling proposed consent decrees reached with Minneapolis and Louisville to implement policing reforms in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The department also announced it would retract its findings in six other recent sweeping investigations into police departments as part of a move to phase out the use of the federal oversight mechanism on local police departments at Republican President Donald Trump 's behest. The decision to unwind the investigations is a major reversal from the Biden administration, which had aggressively used the investigations and decrees to push reforms at police departments it accused of civil rights violations. Here's more information on how consent decrees work and why they've been put in place. What are consent decrees? The federal government has used consent decrees after what are commonly referred to as pattern or practice investigations to address findings of civil rights violations or unconstitutional practices. They've been used for things like monitoring mandated desegregation in schools or addressing unconstitutional conditions in jails or prisons. The 1994 crime bill gave the Justice Department the ability to conduct pattern or practice investigations specifically of police departments. The investigations are not criminal. They are often triggered by high-profile excessive or fatal use-of-force incidents like the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. But they can also be triggered by citizen complaints, or be started at the request of local or state officials. Consent decrees are settlements of the investigation findings that do not require admissions of guilt, but put in place a court-enforced improvement plan that requires agencies to meet specific goals before federal oversight of the agency is removed. A federal judge usually administers the consent decree and appoints a monitor to oversee and report on progress. Who decides what's in a consent decree? After the Justice Department investigation is complete, and if systemic civil rights violations are found, the department's attorneys work with local governments or police agencies to negotiate the list of reforms included in the decree. Those reforms can cover an array of issues including policies, training requirements, data practices, oversight and other policing practices, said Alex del Carmen, a professor and associate dean of the School of Criminology at Tarleton State University in Fort Worth. Del Carmen, who has served as a federal monitor and a special master in large consent decrees, said the DOJ attorneys and the local government or police agency most often will agree on the terms of the decree before it is sent to a judge for approval. In the rare instance that a police department does not agree to the consent decree terms, the Justice Department has in the past filed a lawsuit to force the reforms, as it did in Colorado City, Arizona. A jury found the department had discriminated against people who weren't members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church and put in place court-ordered reforms. Most recently, Memphis declined in December to agree to the findings of a Justice Department investigation. The department had not filed a lawsuit in the case, and the announcement Wednesday retracted those findings. Consent decrees had not yet been proposed in the other five retracted investigations. The now canceled consent decrees in Louisville and Minneapolis were awaiting a judge's approval. How long do consent decrees last? Some decrees are designed to be completed in five years, which was the timeframe in which former President Joe Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland, proposed all decrees should have a hearing to decide if they should be ended. In reality, many of the decrees last a decade or longer. The Justice Department and local officials filed a joint motion earlier this month to conclude a decree at the Albuquerque Police Department that had been enacted in November 2014. Another ongoing consent decree with the New Orleans Police Department began in 2013. After the consent decree conditions are met, departments often also have to complete a maintenance period to make sure the changes continue. 'Consent decrees remain in effect until a department demonstrates sustained compliance with all requirements,' del Carmen said. 'Progress is evaluated through regular monitor reports and agency audits. If the department fails to meet benchmarks or violates the decree, the court can hold it in contempt, impose fines, extend oversight, or mandate additional corrective measures.' He said in cases of continued non-compliance, a court can consider the rare step of appointing a receiver- a neutral third party- to manage the department. How is success of a consent decree measured? Critics of police department consent decrees argue they can come with expensive tabs — sometimes in the millions — including paying the monitor. Police unions and local officials often say that money could be better used making improvements to the department and paying officers. In Albuquerque critics have said they believe the decree failed, citing increased crime numbers. But advocates of the federal decrees and former monitors said those numbers — crimes or raw use-of-force numbers — are not indicative of success or failure. They point to independent monitor audits that track policy compliance, to community-trust surveys and to declines in misconduct complaints. They also say the money expended in improving training and accountability often means less payouts later in civil-liability claims against the police departments. 'Independent oversight ensures that agencies cannot ignore or backslide on required changes, even amid political shifts,' del Carmen said. 'While resource-intensive, it is often argued that (consent decrees) have repeatedly produced lasting reductions in misconduct and strengthened public trust in reformed departments.'
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
How federal consent decrees have been used in police reform across the US
The Justice Department announced Wednesday it was canceling proposed consent decrees reached with Minneapolis and Louisville to implement policing reforms in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The department also announced it would retract its findings in six other recent sweeping investigations into police departments as part of a move to phase out the use of the federal oversight mechanism on local police departments at Republican President Donald Trump's behest. The decision to unwind the investigations is a major reversal from the Biden administration, which had aggressively used the investigations and decrees to push reforms at police departments it accused of civil rights violations. Here's more information on how consent decrees work and why they've been put in place. What are consent decrees? The federal government has used consent decrees after what are commonly referred to as pattern or practice investigations to address findings of civil rights violations or unconstitutional practices. They've been used for things like monitoring mandated desegregation in schools or addressing unconstitutional conditions in jails or prisons. The 1994 crime bill gave the Justice Department the ability to conduct pattern or practice investigations specifically of police departments. The investigations are not criminal. They are often triggered by high-profile excessive or fatal use-of-force incidents like the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor in Louisville. But they can also be triggered by citizen complaints, or be started at the request of local or state officials. Consent decrees are settlements of the investigation findings that do not require admissions of guilt, but put in place a court-enforced improvement plan that requires agencies to meet specific goals before federal oversight of the agency is removed. A federal judge usually administers the consent decree and appoints a monitor to oversee and report on progress. Who decides what's in a consent decree? After the Justice Department investigation is complete, and if systemic civil rights violations are found, the department's attorneys work with local governments or police agencies to negotiate the list of reforms included in the decree. Those reforms can cover an array of issues including policies, training requirements, data practices, oversight and other policing practices, said Alex del Carmen, a professor and associate dean of the School of Criminology at Tarleton State University in Fort Worth. Del Carmen, who has served as a federal monitor and a special master in large consent decrees, said the DOJ attorneys and the local government or police agency most often will agree on the terms of the decree before it is sent to a judge for approval. In the rare instance that a police department does not agree to the consent decree terms, the Justice Department has in the past filed a lawsuit to force the reforms, as it did in Colorado City, Arizona. A jury found the department had discriminated against people who weren't members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church and put in place court-ordered reforms. Most recently, Memphis declined in December to agree to the findings of a Justice Department investigation. The department had not filed a lawsuit in the case, and the announcement Wednesday retracted those findings. Consent decrees had not yet been proposed in the other five retracted investigations. The now canceled consent decrees in Louisville and Minneapolis were awaiting a judge's approval. How long do consent decrees last? Some decrees are designed to be completed in five years, which was the timeframe in which former President Joe Biden's attorney general, Merrick Garland, proposed all decrees should have a hearing to decide if they should be ended. In reality, many of the decrees last a decade or longer. The Justice Department and local officials filed a joint motion earlier this month to conclude a decree at the Albuquerque Police Department that had been enacted in November 2014. Another ongoing consent decree with the New Orleans Police Department began in 2013. After the consent decree conditions are met, departments often also have to complete a maintenance period to make sure the changes continue. 'Consent decrees remain in effect until a department demonstrates sustained compliance with all requirements,' del Carmen said. 'Progress is evaluated through regular monitor reports and agency audits. If the department fails to meet benchmarks or violates the decree, the court can hold it in contempt, impose fines, extend oversight, or mandate additional corrective measures.' He said in cases of continued non-compliance, a court can consider the rare step of appointing a receiver- a neutral third party- to manage the department. How is success of a consent decree measured? Critics of police department consent decrees argue they can come with expensive tabs — sometimes in the millions — including paying the monitor. Police unions and local officials often say that money could be better used making improvements to the department and paying officers. In Albuquerque critics have said they believe the decree failed, citing increased crime numbers. But advocates of the federal decrees and former monitors said those numbers — crimes or raw use-of-force numbers — are not indicative of success or failure. They point to independent monitor audits that track policy compliance, to community-trust surveys and to declines in misconduct complaints. They also say the money expended in improving training and accountability often means less payouts later in civil-liability claims against the police departments. 'Independent oversight ensures that agencies cannot ignore or backslide on required changes, even amid political shifts,' del Carmen said. 'While resource-intensive, it is often argued that (consent decrees) have repeatedly produced lasting reductions in misconduct and strengthened public trust in reformed departments.'
CNN
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
The end of federal oversight and calls to pardon George Floyd's convicted killer could undermine police reforms, Minneapolis leaders warn
It's been almost five years since the world watched George Floyd beg for his life as a White police officer in Minneapolis knelt on the Black father's neck for more than 9 minutes. After a bystander's video of Floyd's death sparked nationwide calls for an end to police impunity and brutality, the officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired. A state jury ultimately convicted him of murder, and he pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations, netting him more than two decades in prison. Meanwhile, leaders in Minneapolis – in separate partnerships with the US Justice Department and state officials – began implementing policing reforms to try to prevent any such tragedy from happening again. Those federal efforts came to an abrupt halt Wednesday as the Trump administration announced it would end its oversight of policing reforms through court-authorized consent decrees in cities including Minneapolis, Phoenix and Louisville, Kentucky. The move complicates the path toward ensuring more fair policing in Minneapolis, leaders there told CNN, just as some activists and lawmakers on the political right are urging President Donald Trump to pardon Chauvin, a campaign that some also see as chipping away at gains toward racial justice. When asked outright in March if he was considering pardoning Chauvin, Trump told White House reporters, 'No, I haven't even heard about it,' and his administration since then has not signaled he's interested in pursuing the matter. Still, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the GOP firebrand from Georgia, wrote last week on social media: 'I strongly support Derek Chauvin being pardoned and released from prison.' Right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro launched a pardon campaign in March to encourage Trump to do the same, in part with a nod from White House confidant and billionaire Elon Musk. Greene also resurfaced, without evidence, the argument refuted by medical officials and rejected by a state jury of Chauvin's peers that 'Floyd died of a drug overdose.' 'Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in front of the whole world,' Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told CNN this week, noting his office 'proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chauvin asphyxiated Floyd.' 'The only conceivable purpose' of a pardon, Ellison added, 'would be to express yet more disrespect for George Floyd and more disrespect for the rule of law.' For Floyd's brother, Terrence, calls to pardon Chauvin are like 'reinjuring … reopening a wound,' he told CNN in March. 'This is the fifth year, we were supposed to see progress,' Terrence Floyd said. 'So many things was promised to us as a people – not just to Black and Brown people, but as a people – and now they're backpedaling.' Practically, a Trump pardon likely would mean little more than a change of address for Chauvin because it only would apply to his 21-year sentence on the federal charges, which the ex-officer has been serving in a federal prison in Texas concurrently with his 22 ½ year state sentence. 'A pardon of Chauvin's federal conviction would return him to Minnesota to serve the rest of his sentence in state prison,' Ellison said. But the mounting discussions of a pardon and the Trump administration's months-long delay of consent decree proceedings have had leaders in Minnesota preparing for the end of federal oversight of the Minneapolis Police Department – and considering how to maintain momentum for reform, even without support from Washington. A Justice Department report in 2023 linked directly to Floyd's death found 'systemic problems' at the city agency, including racial discrimination, excessive and unlawful use of force, First Amendment violations and a lack of officer accountability. That same year, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the city of Minneapolis reached an agreement in state court to address race-based policing and bring 'transformational changes' to the city's police department. The deal centers on changing the culture of the city's police by creating 'clear, effective policies' and providing strong accountability and oversight. The agreement, in part, 'require(s) officers to de-escalate,' 'prohibit(s) officers from using force to punish or retaliate' and limits how they can use stun guns, chemical irritants and force. It also mandates the city and the police agency 'conduct thorough investigations of police misconduct.' Then, weeks before Trump's inauguration this January, the Minneapolis City Council approved a separate consent decree with the federal government that also would have mandated major reforms. Just days into Trump's second term, however, his administration announced it would halt federal oversight of police reforms, and in late April, Trump signed an executive order mandating his Justice Department to 'review all ongoing Federal consent decrees … and modify, rescind, or move to conclude such measures that unduly impede the performance of law enforcement functions.' Minneapolis' mayor has pledged police reforms will still be enacted despite Wednesday's announcement by the Trump administration. 'We're doing it anyway. We will implement every reform outlined in the consent decree because accountability isn't optional,' said Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat who's had the job since 2018. 'Our independent monitor has lauded the meaningful progress we've made under the state settlement agreement, and the public can count on clear, measurable proof that our reforms are moving forward.' 'While the Department of Justice walks away from their federal consent decree nearly five years from the murder of George Floyd, our Department and the state court consent decree isn't going anywhere,' Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said Wednesday. 'Under the state agreement, the City and MPD must make transformational changes to address race-based policing. The tremendous amount of work that lies ahead for the City, including MPD, cannot be understated. And our Department will be here every step of the way.' Still, Frey's assurances must be backed by consistent action, something that even with good intentions could be a challenge without federal supervision, longtime advocates for policing reform in Minneapolis told CNN. Communities United Against Police Brutality spent years going door-to-door teaching city residents about the importance of a consent decree to govern policing reforms and gathering testimony about their encounters with the police department – all with the aim of informing better policies, said the president of the 25-year-old group, Michelle Gross. Now, the organization stands ready to sue on behalf of the community to keep the federal consent decree, Gross told CNN. 'It's really important that that we don't just say, 'Well, you know, that was a nice experiment. Let's move on,'' she said. 'You effect cultural change by laying out your expectations, rewarding the good behavior and addressing the bad behavior through discipline and other means.' What's more, for a community that's only just starting to heal five years after Floyd's death, pardoning Chauvin and backtracking on policing reforms would be like 'pouring salt in the wound,' Gross said. 'I'm distressed that the current administration believes that police need to somehow be 'unleashed,'' she said, quoting from the title of Trump's executive action on policing: 'Strengthening and Unleashing America's Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens.' 'Law enforcement does have a function … and it's a necessary job,' Gross said. 'But trampling on people's rights is not necessary to do that job, and we shouldn't tolerate it as a country.'
CNN
21-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
The end of federal oversight and calls to pardon George Floyd's convicted killer could undermine police reforms, Minneapolis leaders warn
It's been almost five years since the world watched George Floyd beg for his life as a White police officer in Minneapolis knelt on the Black father's neck for more than 9 minutes. After a bystander's video of Floyd's death sparked nationwide calls for an end to police impunity and brutality, the officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired. A state jury ultimately convicted him of murder, and he pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violations, netting him more than two decades in prison. Meanwhile, leaders in Minneapolis – in separate partnerships with the US Justice Department and state officials – began implementing policing reforms to try to prevent any such tragedy from happening again. Those federal efforts came to an abrupt halt Wednesday as the Trump administration announced it would end its oversight of policing reforms through court-authorized consent decrees in cities including Minneapolis, Phoenix and Louisville, Kentucky. The move complicates the path toward ensuring more fair policing in Minneapolis, leaders there told CNN, just as some activists and lawmakers on the political right are urging President Donald Trump to pardon Chauvin, a campaign that some also see as chipping away at gains toward racial justice. When asked outright in March if he was considering pardoning Chauvin, Trump told White House reporters, 'No, I haven't even heard about it,' and his administration since then has not signaled he's interested in pursuing the matter. Still, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the GOP firebrand from Georgia, wrote last week on social media: 'I strongly support Derek Chauvin being pardoned and released from prison.' Right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro launched a pardon campaign in March to encourage Trump to do the same, in part with a nod from White House confidant and billionaire Elon Musk. Greene also resurfaced, without evidence, the argument refuted by medical officials and rejected by a state jury of Chauvin's peers that 'Floyd died of a drug overdose.' 'Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd in front of the whole world,' Democratic Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told CNN this week, noting his office 'proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Chauvin asphyxiated Floyd.' 'The only conceivable purpose' of a pardon, Ellison added, 'would be to express yet more disrespect for George Floyd and more disrespect for the rule of law.' For Floyd's brother, Terrence, calls to pardon Chauvin are like 'reinjuring … reopening a wound,' he told CNN in March. 'This is the fifth year, we were supposed to see progress,' Terrence Floyd said. 'So many things was promised to us as a people – not just to Black and Brown people, but as a people – and now they're backpedaling.' Practically, a Trump pardon likely would mean little more than a change of address for Chauvin because it only would apply to his 21-year sentence on the federal charges, which the ex-officer has been serving in a federal prison in Texas concurrently with his 22 ½ year state sentence. 'A pardon of Chauvin's federal conviction would return him to Minnesota to serve the rest of his sentence in state prison,' Ellison said. But the mounting discussions of a pardon and the Trump administration's months-long delay of consent decree proceedings have had leaders in Minnesota preparing for the end of federal oversight of the Minneapolis Police Department – and considering how to maintain momentum for reform, even without support from Washington. A Justice Department report in 2023 linked directly to Floyd's death found 'systemic problems' at the city agency, including racial discrimination, excessive and unlawful use of force, First Amendment violations and a lack of officer accountability. That same year, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the city of Minneapolis reached an agreement in state court to address race-based policing and bring 'transformational changes' to the city's police department. The deal centers on changing the culture of the city's police by creating 'clear, effective policies' and providing strong accountability and oversight. The agreement, in part, 'require(s) officers to de-escalate,' 'prohibit(s) officers from using force to punish or retaliate' and limits how they can use stun guns, chemical irritants and force. It also mandates the city and the police agency 'conduct thorough investigations of police misconduct.' Then, weeks before Trump's inauguration this January, the Minneapolis City Council approved a separate consent decree with the federal government that also would have mandated major reforms. Just days into Trump's second term, however, his administration announced it would halt federal oversight of police reforms, and in late April, Trump signed an executive order mandating his Justice Department to 'review all ongoing Federal consent decrees … and modify, rescind, or move to conclude such measures that unduly impede the performance of law enforcement functions.' Minneapolis' mayor has pledged police reforms will still be enacted despite Wednesday's announcement by the Trump administration. 'We're doing it anyway. We will implement every reform outlined in the consent decree because accountability isn't optional,' said Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat who's had the job since 2018. 'Our independent monitor has lauded the meaningful progress we've made under the state settlement agreement, and the public can count on clear, measurable proof that our reforms are moving forward.' 'While the Department of Justice walks away from their federal consent decree nearly five years from the murder of George Floyd, our Department and the state court consent decree isn't going anywhere,' Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said Wednesday. 'Under the state agreement, the City and MPD must make transformational changes to address race-based policing. The tremendous amount of work that lies ahead for the City, including MPD, cannot be understated. And our Department will be here every step of the way.' Still, Frey's assurances must be backed by consistent action, something that even with good intentions could be a challenge without federal supervision, longtime advocates for policing reform in Minneapolis told CNN. Communities United Against Police Brutality spent years going door-to-door teaching city residents about the importance of a consent decree to govern policing reforms and gathering testimony about their encounters with the police department – all with the aim of informing better policies, said the president of the 25-year-old group, Michelle Gross. Now, the organization stands ready to sue on behalf of the community to keep the federal consent decree, Gross told CNN. 'It's really important that that we don't just say, 'Well, you know, that was a nice experiment. Let's move on,'' she said. 'You effect cultural change by laying out your expectations, rewarding the good behavior and addressing the bad behavior through discipline and other means.' What's more, for a community that's only just starting to heal five years after Floyd's death, pardoning Chauvin and backtracking on policing reforms would be like 'pouring salt in the wound,' Gross said. 'I'm distressed that the current administration believes that police need to somehow be 'unleashed,'' she said, quoting from the title of Trump's executive action on policing: 'Strengthening and Unleashing America's Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens.' 'Law enforcement does have a function … and it's a necessary job,' Gross said. 'But trampling on people's rights is not necessary to do that job, and we shouldn't tolerate it as a country.'
