Federal Judge Dismisses Minneapolis Police Department's Proposed Consent Decree

Federal Judge Dismisses Minneapolis Police Department's Proposed Consent Decree

The Minneapolis Police Department is no longer under federal oversight after a judge ruled on Tuesday to dismiss a proposed consent decree "with prejudice," meaning it can't be filed again.

The federally mandated reforms came in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. Sunday marked five years since his death, which was marked by communities in the Twin Cities and across the U.S.

Last week, the Trump administration's Department of Justice asked that the proposed consent decree get tossed out, alleging it "would have imposed years of micromanagement by federal courts … and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars of compliance costs."

Despite Judge Paul A. Magnuson's dismissal, a separate reform agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights is still in place, and both Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara and Mayor Jacob Frey say they'll press forward.

"The bottom line is that we are doing it anyway. We will implement every reform in the 169-page consent decree," Frey said in a statement released on Tuesday. "Minneapolis is making great progress on police reform, and we don't need permission from Washington or a federal judge to keep pushing forward."

The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis also released a statement after Magnuson's ruling, saying it appreciates the decision, adding "additional oversight is unnecessary."

The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division also ended its investigations into seven other police departments.

This story will be updated.