In the first demonstration of administration action following the murder conviction of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, Attorney General Merrick Garland is set to announce the Justice Department is opening a sweeping investigation into the Minneapolis police force.
The ‘pattern and practice’ probe is expected to be a widespread investigation of the force’s policing practices – and will examine whether the force engages in systemic discrimination and how it handles allegations of misconduct.
The probe is a civil investigation ‘to determine whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing,’ Garland said in a brief statement at the Justice Department.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announce a sweeping federal probe into the Minneapolis Police Department Wednesday
He said investigators, drawn from DOJ’s Civil Division and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minneapolis, will ‘assess whether the Minneapolis police department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force – including during protests.’
It will investigate whether the department engages in ‘discriminatory conduct,’ and whether it treatment of those with behavioral health disabilities is ‘unlawful.’
Garland said DOJ would issue a public report if it finds there is reasonable cause that the force has engaged in unreasonable or unconstitutional practices.
The Department also may bring a civil lawsuit, he noted – in an effort to get a federal judge to impose injunctive relief. As he noted, that usually results in a consent decree to ensure compliance.
Garland on Friday announced the administration was rescinding a Trump era limit on such consent decrees – which had been enforced during the Obama administration.
‘I know that nothing can fill the void that the loved ones of George Floyd have felt since his death,’ Garland said, in his first comments on the Chauvin verdict
The announcement comes a day after former officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death last May.
‘I know that nothing can fill the void that the loved ones of George Floyd have felt since his death,’ Garland said, in his first comments on the verdict itself.
‘My heart goes out to them and to all those who have experienced similar loss,’ he said.
Floyd’s death prompted months of mass protests against policing in the U.S. The move by Garland comes after President Joe Biden told the nation it faced ‘systemic racism’ and vowed to act on legislation that would ban chokeholds and address ‘qualified immunity’ that police officers enjoy.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
Biden called systemic racism ‘the knee on the neck of justice for black Americans,’ in remarks to the nation after the Chauvin verdict.
A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press the nature of Garland’s speech Wednesday.
The Justice Department is already investigating whether the officers involved in Floyd’s death violated Floyd’s civil rights. The investigation announced Wednesday is known as a ‘pattern or practice’ and will be a more sweeping probe of the entire department and may result in major changes to policing there, the official said.
The official had direct knowledge of the matter but was not authorized to speak publicly about the upcoming announcement, planned for Wednesday morning.
President Joe Biden, accompanied by Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the White House in Washington, after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, will announce a ‘pattern and practice’ probe of the Minneapolis Police Department Wednesday
The probe is a ‘pattern and practice’ review of the department
The Justice Department had previously considered opening a pattern or practice investigation into the police department soon after Floyd´s death
The investigation will examine practices used by police and whether the department engages in discriminatory practices. It will also look into the department´s handling of misconduct allegations among other things, the person said. It is unclear whether the years under investigation will begin when Floyd died or before.
The Justice Department had no comment.
The decision comes as President Joe Biden has promised his administration would not rest following the jury’s verdict in the case. In a Tuesday evening speech, he said much more needed to be done.
People rally outside the courthouse in Minneapolis on Tuesday, April 20, 2021, after the guilty verdicts were announced in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
‘`I can´t breathe.´ Those were George Floyd´s last words,’ Biden said. ‘We can´t let those words die with him. We have to keep hearing those words. We must not turn away. We can´t turn away.’
The Justice Department had previously considered opening a pattern or practice investigation into the police department soon after Floyd´s death, but Attorney General Bill Barr was hesitant to do so at the time, fearing that it could cause further divisions in law enforcement amid widespread protests and civil unrest, three people familiar with the matter told the AP.