DOJ Drops Police Oversight Agreements, Raising Fears of Increased Excessive Force
A Reversal in the Wake of George Floyd
Five years after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer sparked a nationwide reckoning on police brutality, the Trump administration’s decision to drop accountability agreements with several police departments is raising alarm bells. Advocates for police reform fear this move could undo years of progress and potentially lead to a rise in excessive force.
The DOJ’s U-Turn
The Department of Justice announced Wednesday it would drop proposed consent decrees with Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, and end investigations into police departments in Phoenix, Trenton, New Jersey, Memphis, Tennessee, Mount Vernon, New York, Oklahoma City, and the Louisiana State Police. These agreements, typically reached after investigations into civil rights violations or unconstitutional practices, aimed to address systemic issues within these police departments and improve their conduct.
Minneapolis and Louisville: Cases that Ignited Change
The Minneapolis consent decree, a court-enforced improvement plan, followed the 2020 death of George Floyd. Floyd, unarmed and handcuffed, was killed when police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes. The Louisville agreement came after the 2020 death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot by police officers while unarmed in her own home. Both killings ignited nationwide protests and fueled calls for police reform.
Mixed Reactions to the DOJ’s Decision
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon defended the decision, calling the consent decrees “overbroad,” “factually unjustified,” and based on an “anti-police agenda.” But this move has been met with strong criticism.
“It is important to not overstate what consent decrees do,” said Jin Hee Lee with the Legal Defense Fund. “They are very important and oftentimes necessary to force police departments to change their policies, to change their practices. But consent decrees were never the end all, be all.”
Local Control vs. Federal Oversight: A Continuing Debate
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, who refused to comply with Garland’s consent decree, argued that communities are better equipped to manage their own law enforcement agencies. She has pointed to the city’s own reforms aimed at addressing the DOJ’s findings, such as a new use-of-force policy and the creation of a civilian review board.
The Long-Term Impact: Unclear but Concerning
The long-term impact of the DOJ’s decision remains to be seen. Some experts argue that it could have a chilling effect on police reform efforts in other cities, while others believe that local communities will continue to push for change regardless of federal involvement.
However, the decision has undoubtedly deepened the debate over the role of federal oversight in policing and the balance between local control and national standards.
