Minneapolis City Council near agreement on federal oversight of police department

NINA MOINI: In Minneapolis, the city council has been in a closed-door session for the last several hours to discuss a new agreement with federal officials, which could mandate reforms to the city's police department. Reporter Estelle Timar-Wilcox joins us now with the latest. Thanks for being here, Estelle.

ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Hi, Nina.

NINA MOINI: We know you've been following this closely all morning. What do we know about what the council is discussing?

ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, well, the mayor and the city council, along with other city officials, went into that closed session at 8:30 this morning, so verging on three hours here. They're going over the tentative agreement with city attorneys, and we haven't seen it yet, but it likely includes a number of reforms that MPD will have to make, potentially to things like the officer training and data tracking. The city council is expected to come back to a public meeting at some point today and vote on the agreement.

And like I said, it's not been made public. It'll be available to view only after it's been approved. We'll learn more about that from federal officials this afternoon. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark has scheduled a press conference at 4:30 to talk about the agreement.

NINA MOINI: And This process has taken several years. Could you remind us how we got here?

ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, so the Justice Department opened an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department in 2021, after the murder of George Floyd and the following protests. They interviewed MPD officers and community members and did a really extensive view of the department and released the results of that investigation in 2023. What they found was a pattern of racial discrimination, particularly against Black and Native people, and a pattern of excessive use of force. They also noted inappropriate responses to people experiencing a behavioral health crisis.

So what they recommended was better use of force training, improved data collection, better accountability measures for officers who break the rules. And since then, city officials have been in talks with the Department of Justice trying to reach this consent agreement. At the same time, the state did its own investigation of MPD, and they reached a separate settlement with the city, which also mandates reforms. MPD is currently working towards some of those requirements, and they're being overseen by an independent monitor.

NINA MOINI: That's right. And we know that police accountability advocates have long pushed for federal oversight of MPD. What are they saying today?

ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Yeah, there were lots of people gathered in that council room waiting for council members to come back in. They held a press conference this morning while they waited. They want the weight of federal enforcement. Here's Jaylani Hussein from CAIR. He says this could make real change.

JAYLANI HUSSEIN: This is not going to be a document on a shelf. This is not going to be buzzwords. This is an opportunity to change a system that continuously brutalizes people of color in the city of Minneapolis.

ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: So advocates hope that this could make changes that the progressive council hasn't been able to enact yet, and also make more extensive changes than the state agreement.

NINA MOINI: So if the council members sign off on this consent decree, what happens next?

ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: So as soon as they sign off, it can be filed in federal court, and then a judge will have to sign it. At that point, it would go into effect. Advocates are hoping that this whole process will be buttoned up before Trump's inauguration in two weeks. Trump's last administration wasn't supportive of consent decrees. His Department of Justice abandoned negotiations towards a decree in Chicago, so advocates here want it set in stone soon.

Once it's enacted, a federal judge will oversee it. So that gives it some protection from whatever Trump may decide in terms of pending or future consent decrees. An independent monitor would oversee the city's compliance, probably the same independent monitor that's currently enforcing the state-level agreement. So the idea there is they could work out any differences or discrepancies between the two, and the consent decree could be in effect for years, until federal courts decide that the city has met all of the conditions.

NINA MOINI: Estelle, thank you for bringing us the very latest. We appreciate it.

ESTELLE TIMAR-WILCOX: Thanks, Nina.

NINA MOINI: That's MPR News reporter Estelle. Timar-Wilcox. Stay tuned to MPR News and All Things Considered beginning at 3:00 PM for updates.