Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis reaches agreement with DOJ to instate oversight in police reform – Washington Examiner
The city of Minneapolis and the Justice Department have reached a tentative agreement for a consent decree to place the city’s police department under federal oversight.
Members of the Minneapolis City Council are expected to review the agreement on Monday with the intention of finalizing it before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has been a vocal opponent of the move. He has called the court-enforceable reform a “war on police.”
There has been great concern Trump will try to stop the mandated federal oversight of the city’s police department, as city officials began their inquiry into the department’s misconduct nearly five years ago following the death of George Floyd.
“We haven’t taken our foot off the gas since we started, and I have no intention of taking the foot off the gas,” City Attorney Kristyn Anderson said in an interview last month. “I’m still hopeful we’re gonna be able to land the plane on this one.”
In June 2023, the Justice Department concluded in a report that the Minneapolis Police Department had repeatedly used “unjustified deadly force and excessive less-lethal force,” unlawfully discriminated against black and Native American people, violated First Amendment rights, and caused trauma or death when responding to people with behavioral health problems.
The city and the DOJ were expected to begin negotiating terms for the decree, but it took nearly a year for the DOJ to submit a draft consent decree for feedback following the published report.
There was no rationale provided for the delay. Already, the city has entered into a consent decree with the state. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights has entered a four-year oversight agreement with the city to monitor the MPD and ensure changes are made to ensure no racial discrimination is taking place.
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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has allocated $16 million in 2024 and $11 million in 2025 to manage the reforms expected to be implemented from the decrees. Last year, MPD launched an Implementation Unit that will focus on improving data collection and ensuring that compliance with the new standards is met.
If the city council agrees to the terms laid out by the Justice Department, the MPD will be the first police department in the country to be subjected to both a federal and state consent decree.
Minneapolis, MN
Whitefish council creates proclamation in solidarity with city, citizens of Minneapolis
WHITEFISH, Mont. — The Whitefish City Council in February presented and signed a proclamation expressing solidarity with the city and citizens of Minneapolis.
The proclamation states that Whitefish mourns the loss of life that occurred in Minneapolis and stands in solidarity with its residents.
It reaffirms the city’s commitment to equal treatment under the law and emphasizes that peaceful protest is a fundamental American right.
The proclamation was supported by five of the six council members.
Mayor John Muhlfeld said the action was meant to reaffirm the city’s values.
“A mayoral proclamation that is supported by five of six City Council members supporting solidarity with the city and citizens of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and reaffirming our supportive, just, equal and welcoming community,” Muhlfeld said. “I think this is somewhat overdue. Our town’s been through a lot over the years, This is more importantly to reaffirm our values as a council with our community because we care deeply about you.”
Over the last year, Whitefish has faced criticism amid rising tensions surrounding the Department of Homeland Security.
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View the full proclamation below.
Minneapolis, MN
City officials report less speeding at corners with traffic cameras in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis man sentenced to nearly 30 years for murder of Deshaun Hill
A Minneapolis man who pleaded guilty to murdering a high school student in 2022 was sentenced to nearly 30 years in prison on Monday.
It was the second time Cody Fohrenkam was sentenced for fatally shooting 15-year-old Deshaun Hill. He was convicted and sentenced to more than 38 years in prison in February 2023, but the Minnesota Court of Appeals later reversed the conviction and granted him a retrial based on illegally obtained incriminating statements.
Fohrenkam, 33, agreed to a plea deal as his second trial was set to start, pleading guilty to one count of second-degree intentional murder in exchange for Monday’s 340-month sentence. The judge presiding over the hearing gave him credit for 1,476 days already served.
Fohrenkam shot and killed Hill while Hill was walking to a bus stop just blocks from Minneapolis North High School, where Hill was a star quarterback and honor roll student.
One of Hill’s aunts said in a statement shortly before the judge sentenced Fohrenkam that her nephew was “full of life.”
“When he spoke, you listened. He had a soft spirit and a good heart,” she said. “Deshaun was an artist who, as you all know, he took his education seriously. He had dreams and goals. He worked hard to make his family proud.”
This story will be updated.
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