The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it’s looking to walk away from consent decrees with Louisville, Kentucky and Minneapolis, Minnesota, two cities that became ground zero for conversations about policing and racial justice following the 2020 killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
These court-enforceable agreements, known as consent decrees, were created under the Biden administration as a way to hold police departments accountable for years of systemic misconduct and civil rights violations. But now, just days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death, the DOJ wants out.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents both the Floyd and Taylor families, didn’t mince words.
“These consent decrees and investigations were not symbolic gestures, they were lifelines for communities crying out for change, rooted in years of organizing, suffering, and advocacy,” Crump said.
The DOJ launched investigations into both cities following nationwide protests in 2020. The findings were damning, pointing to patterns of unconstitutional policing, racial discrimination, and excessive force.
Consent decrees were put in place to enforce sweeping reforms in both departments, but progress has been slow. Now, instead of pushing the work forward, the DOJ wants to shut it all down.
According to the Justice Department, the request to dismiss the decrees comes after a series of delays and missed deadlines, mostly blamed on bureaucratic gridlock and shifting priorities. But critics say the timing and the politics don’t feel accidental.
In a press conference, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey didn’t hold back on his frustration.
“It is predictable that they would move for a dismissal the very same week that George Floyd was murdered five years ago,” Frey said. “All Donald Trump really cares about is political theater.”
Frey made it clear that despite the DOJ’s move, Minneapolis will continue with its own reform efforts. “We’re doing it anyway,” he said.
Meanwhile, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city is also pushing ahead.
“While this is not the outcome we hoped for when we stood right here in December and announced the decree, it is an outcome that we have planned for. We as a city are committed to reform,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg confirmed the city would still hold community engagement sessions and assign an independent monitor to track progress—moves meant to reassure the public that reform isn’t off the table.
The final decision now rests with the federal courts. Judges in both cities will decide whether to grant the DOJ’s request to dismiss the agreements.
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