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Fate of Minneapolis federal consent decree uncertain amid a Trump presidency

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Fate of Minneapolis federal consent decree uncertain amid a Trump presidency


Fate of Federal Consent Decree up in the air with incoming Trump presidency

A major part of reforms for the Minneapolis Police Department may never come to be. 

That part is the federal consent decree — which the city is still negotiating with the Department of Justice — given President-Elect Donald Trump’s track record surrounding this kind of action. 

“When President Trump came in, he shut the whole thing down,” Emily Gunston, a former deputy chief with the DOJ about the pending consent decree with the city of Chicago she was working on when Trump began his first term. 

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“I think folks should expect that that’s exactly what President Trump will do in a second term, with regard to Minneapolis,” Gunston added. 

In her more than twenty years working in the area of police practices, Gunston says she spent 9 years in the DOJ, mostly under President Barrack Obama’s administration, investigating and negotiating several consent decrees. 

Following the murder of George Floyd, DOJ investigators said the MPD and the City of Minneapolis engaged in a, “pattern or practice of conduct in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law.”

Now months in the making, the city has been negotiating with the DOJ to finalize a federal consent decree. 

“Because a court is not yet involved. President Trump, the Trump administration and new attorney general could just decide that this is not a case that they are pursuing,” Gunston added. 

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In a statement, Minneapolis attorney Kristyn Anderson shared the following.

City leadership has and will continue to prioritize negotiations with the Department of Justice and work toward a federal consent decree. Our commitment to reforming policing in Minneapolis and building a more just approach will not change based on who is in the White House.

Through the Settlement Agreement with the Minnesota Human Rights Department – which is modeled on a federal consent decree – as well as new initiatives led by the Office of Community Safety and Minneapolis Police Department, the City is moving with urgency to strengthen community trust and community safety in Minneapolis.

As mentioned in Anderson’s statement, the city and police department are already in the process of reform through the court enforceable settlement agreement with the state’s Human Rights Department. 

Through its separate investigation, state investigators found, “race discrimination in violation of Minnesota Human Rights Act” — a spokesperson with the department sent the following. 

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The state consent decree between the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police Department is here to stay regardless of what happens at the federal level.

The agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights provides the framework for lawful, non-discriminatory policing, reduces unnecessary dangers for officers, and results in better public safety for Minneapolis.

Still, the federal findings go beyond that of the state, given the DOJ enforces federal law — their findings also highlight that MPD violated people’s First Amendment and discriminated against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to calls for service. 

“The findings that the Department of Justice made, it could be that they had additional evidence on some areas of the law, that perhaps the state investigators weren’t able to acquire that evidence, or didn’t make those same findings,” Gunston said. 

She added that if the federal consent decree were not to take effect, the reform may not go as far. 

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MPD Chief Brian O’Hara also shared a statement.

Regardless of what happens with the DOJ consent decree, we do have a consent decree in place in state court that addresses all of the major topics covered in previous federal consent decrees: use of force, stop search and arrest, implicit bias, supervision and training. 

We are making tremendous progress enhancing trust with our communities as we rebuild the MPD to be the standard for policing in America.

The city is set to spend more than $15 million to manage both the state and federal oversight, with another $13 million set for next year. 

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis woman, cat rescued from apartment fire

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Minneapolis woman, cat rescued from apartment fire


Minneapolis woman, cat rescued from apartment fire – CBS Minnesota

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Minneapolis fire crews pulled a woman and her cat to safety this morning.

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis to pay $600,000 to settle with woman who says Derek Chauvin knelt on her neck

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Minneapolis to pay 0,000 to settle with woman who says Derek Chauvin knelt on her neck


MINNEAPOLIS — The city of Minneapolis has agreed to pay $600,000 to settle a lawsuit by a woman who alleged that ex-Officer Derek Chauvin hauled her from her minivan and pinned her to the ground with his knee in January 2020, just as he did four months later when he killed George Floyd.

Patty Day, formerly employed by the Public Works Department, claimed in a lawsuit filed last May that she was the victim of excessive force and a wrongful arrest. She acknowledged that she was drunk on the evening of Jan. 17, 2020, and depressed over her impending divorce and other difficulties when she got stuck in the snow for several hours.

Chauvin and his partner that night, Officer Ellen Jensen, eventually arrived on the scene. The lawsuit alleged that the officers “violently yanked” Day from her vehicle and threw her to the pavement, causing several injuries.

“Chauvin then assumed his signature pose, pressing his knee into the subdued and handcuffed Patty’s back — just as he would later do to snuff the life out of George Floyd — and remaining that way well after Patty was controlled,” the complaint alleged. A drunken driving charge was later dropped after a judge ruled that the officers lacked probable cause to arrest her and suppressed the blood alcohol test evidence.

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The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved the $600,000 settlement Thursday. Council member LaTrisha Vetaw told her colleagues that $175,000 will go to Day while her attorneys will get $425,000.

The city has now paid over $36 million to settle police misconduct cases involving Chauvin, including $27 million to the Floyd family.

“While no settlement can undo what Patty endured, we are grateful to have reached an agreement that holds the officers accountable for their actions,” Day’s attorney, Katie Bennett, said in a statement. “This case is yet another example of the critical need for justice and reform in policing.”

Chauvin, who is white, remains incarcerated at a federal prison in Texas for his conviction in state court of murdering Floyd and a federal conviction for violating Floyd’s civil rights. The Black man’s murder sparked a national reckoning with racial injustice.



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Man struck with glass bottle during altercation in Minneapolis

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Man struck with glass bottle during altercation in Minneapolis


Minneapolis police say one person is recovering, and another has been arrested following an altercation Friday.

According to police, police were called to assist a man who was bleeding from the head at the 2500 block of Centeral Avenue northeast around 8:20 p.m. Friday.

Police found that a man had received non-life-threatening injuries from a glass bottle he was struck by.

According to police, the man had been involved in a physical altercation with another person when he was hit with the bottle, which caused lacerations to his head.

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The other man he had been fighting later left the area in a vehicle before police arrived but was later found and arrested.

Police said they are still working to determine what lledup to the altercation.



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