In a surprise move just days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's death, the U.S. Department of Justice has ended negotiations for court-approved police reform settlements in Minneapolis and Louisville. The decision undoes years of work aimed at addressing systemic civil rights violations in these departments.
Alongside halting talks in those two landmark cases, federal authorities are closing investigations and retracting findings of wrongdoing in six other major police agencies:
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Trenton, New Jersey
- Mount Vernon, New York
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Louisiana State Police
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, defended the move: "Overbroad police consent decrees divest local control of policing from communities where it belongs, turning that power over to unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats." Critics, however, warn that this abrupt rollback may stall momentum for reform.
The original investigations followed two of 2020's most infamous killings: the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the shooting of Breonna Taylor in Louisville. Their deaths ignited global protests and a renewed push for police accountability.
For young global citizens and advocates of justice, the DOJ's decision raises fresh questions: Who shapes the future of policing, and what tools do communities need to ensure fairness? As local control returns to these departments, activists and policymakers will be watching closely.
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U.S. DOJ drops police reform settlements over Floyd, Taylor killings
cgtn.com
