‘Change cannot wait’: AG Merrick Garland announces Minneapolis police probe day after Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict
The Justice Department is launching a sweeping probe into Minneapolis policing, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Wednesday, a day after ex-cop Derek Chauvin was found guilty of killing George Floyd.
The DOJ’s “pattern or practice” investigation — examining whether there is a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing — could result in broad changes in the way the Minneapolis Police Department operates, Garland said.
“Yesterday’s verdict in the state criminal trial does not address potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis,” he said in a brief press conference.
Garland, who did not take questions, made the announcement a day after Chauvin was convicted of murdering Floyd, whose death set off a wave of racial justice protests across the country last summer.
Chauvin is expected to face sentencing in about eight weeks.
A senior DOJ official said the announcement was delayed until after the trial to avoid interfering with the jury’s deliberations.
The new probe will examine issues like racial discrimination in policing and use of excessive force by officers, especially toward minorities. It will also examine the police department’s response to demonstrations and protests like the ones that erupted after Floyd’s death.
The investigation is separate from an ongoing DOJ probe into whether Chauvin and his fellow officers violated Floyd’s civil rights.
“Nothing can fill the void that the loved ones of George Floyd have experienced since his death,” Garland said. “The challenges we face are deeply woven into our history ... We undertake this task with determination and urgency knowing that change cannot wait.”
Minneapolis elected officials quickly cheered the DOJ investigation, with Mayor Jacob Frey calling the response to Floyd’s death a “generational opportunity” for racial justice. Twelve out of 13 city council members issued a joint statement also praising the probe.
“This is a defining moment of truth and reconciliation in America,” Frey said. “George Floyd’s life mattered.”
Minneapolis police said in a statement that Chief Medaria Arradondo “welcomes this investigation” and will cooperate with federal prosecutors.
Depending on its findings, the DOJ could seek a consent order from the Minneapolis Police Department to make reforms or ask a judge to order changes.
Garland’s move suggests that federal authorities are changing their approach to local policing and enforcing civil rights laws.
Under former President Trump, the Justice Department only launched one similar probe into a small police department in Massachusetts.
The DOJ considered opening a pattern or practice investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department soon after Floyd’s death in May 2020. But then-Attorney General Bill Barr rejected taking action that he believed would be poorly received by law enforcement as protests raged on.
With News Wire Services
