One day after the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced that the U.S. Justice Department would now be launching a full investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department, looking into possible patterns of discrimination and use of excessive force among officers working within the unit.
Carrie Johnson of NPR has reported that this would be the first civil inquiry of its kind launched under the Biden administration, “which has pledged to build trust between police and communities.”
“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,” Garland said as he announced the new probe. “[The April 20] verdict in the state criminal trial does not address potentially systemic policing issues in Minneapolis.”
