The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it will move to withdraw from police reform agreements in Louisville and Minneapolis—a decision that has sparked widespread concern and criticism.
These reforms, known as consent decrees, were established after the 2020 deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd and aimed to address systemic issues within the police departments. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the families of Taylor and Floyd, condemned the decision as a “slap in the face.”
“These consent decrees and investigations were not symbolic gestures, they were lifelines for communities crying out for change, rooted in years of organizing, suffering, and advocacy,” Crump said. He added that these moves wiill “deepen the divide between law enforcement and the people.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey also criticized the timing, noting it coincides with the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death. He stated, “It is predictable that they would move for a dismissal the very same week that George Floyd was murdered five years ago,” according to ABC News. Despite the federal withdrawal, Frey affirmed the city’s commitment to reform, declaring, “We’re doing it anyway.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon defended the DOJ’s decision, stating that the Biden administration relied on “faulty legal theories” and “cherry-picked” statistics. She expressed concerns that consent decrees increase bureaucracy, making it challenging to recruit and retain officers.
“It’s our view at the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division under the Trump administration that federal micromanagement of local police should be a rare exception and not the norm, and certainly not something that we’re seeking to increase in our time here,” Dhillon told reporters in an off-camera briefing.
Dhillon also pushed back on the idea that the timing of the DOJ’s announcement had anything to do with the five-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death. Instead, she said the department was following a court-mandated deadline requiring them to weigh in on the pending consent decrees for Minneapolis and Louisville.
Louisville and Minneapolis officials have pledged to continue their reform efforts independently. Louisville plans to appoint an independent monitor to oversee reforms, while Minneapolis remains committed to the terms of the agreement.