U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP/Bloomberg via Getty
The U.S. Department of Justice, reacting to theguilty verdictof former Minneapolis police officerDerek Chauvinfor murderingGeorge Floyd, will begin a review of the department’s use-of-force tactics while also assessing whether its officers engage in “discriminatory policing.”
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garlandannounced the investigationWednesday.
“Like so many of you, I have closely watched the events in Minnesota,” Garland said at a news conference one day after jurors convicted Chauvin, a white officer, of second-degree murder and other charges in the May 2020 death of Floyd, a Black man, who was restrained facedown in handcuffs with Chauvin’s knee pressed to his neck for more than nine minutes.
“Yesterday’s verdict in the state criminal trial does not address potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis,” Garland said. “Today, I am announcing that the Justice Department has opened a civil investigation to determine whether the Minneapolis Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing.”
Derek Chauvin.Minnesota Department of Corrections/AP/Shutterstock
Chauvin, 44, who was fired after the killing, had argued through his defense attorney that his restraint tactics followed police training and protocol.
In a rare twist for the prosecution of a police officer, Minneapolis police Chief Medaria Arradondo and others from the department testified against Chauvin, who did not let up even as Floyd repeatedly gasped “I can’t breathe.”
“Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped,” Arradondo testified.
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“One of the Civil Rights Division’s highest priorities is to ensure that every person in this country benefits from public safety systems that are lawful, responsive, transparent and nondiscriminatory,” Pamela S. Karlan, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement Wednesday.
She added: “It is essential that police departments across the country use their law enforcement authority, including the authority to use force, in a manner that respects civil rights and the sanctity of human life.”
According toThe New York Times, investigations like the one announced for Minneapolis often lead to court-approved deals between the DOJ and the local police and governments that can map out reforms in training and other practices.
The review of police policies, training and supervision “will also examine MPD’s systems of accountability, including complaint intake, investigation, review, disposition and discipline,” according to the statement. Community groups and members of the public also will be asked to share their experiences with police.
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source: people.com
