Justice Department moves to cancel police reform settlements reached with Minneapolis and Louisville

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press 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 analysis by the Justice Department in Minneapolis in January approved a consent decree with the federal ruling body in the final days of the Biden administration to overhaul its training and use-of-force policies under court supervision Related Articles US stocks drift lower as mixed profit reports from retailers and higher Treasury yields weigh Rapper Kid Cudi to testify at Sean Diddy Combs trial this week At present in History May Clara Barton founds American Red Cross people medical care business and church charged in sober living scheme in Arizona Racist memes shared by Navy SEALs prompt probe disciplinary actions 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 explained 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 society interest noted 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 publicized its decision just before the five-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd Then-officer Derek Chauvin used his knee on May to pin the Black man to the pavement for minutes in a development 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 reached a settlement agreement with the state Human Rights Department to remake policing under court supervision after the agency issued a blistering description in that discovered that police had long engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination Minnesota Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero explained the state court decree isn t going anywhere Under the state agreement the City and MPD must make transformational changes to address race-based policing Lucero explained in a report 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