Federal judge signs off on Trump administration’s move to dismiss MPD consent decree

Less than a week after the Trump administration moved to dismiss a consent decree outlining reforms for the Minneapolis Police Department, a federal judge has signed off on their request, marking its official dissolvement.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson on Tuesday granted the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division’s motion to dismiss the matter with prejudice — meaning it cannot be refiled — noting his numerous concerns over enforcing such an agreement.

“The Court has grave misgivings about the proposed consent decree serving the public interest,” Magnuson wrote, opining that the consent decree is written so that the “legislature and City executives can blame the Court for any Minneapolis Police Department (“MPD”) shortcoming or failure in the City’s response to crime.”

The consent decree, which would have brought federal oversight to sweeping changes within the city’s police department, was the result of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation following George Floyd’s murder which concluded that MPD had engaged in a pattern of unjustified deadly force, unlawful discrimination against Black and Native American people and violated free-speech rights.

The Trump administration’s request to scrap the federal consent decree drew ire from activists and Minneapolis officials as the request came just days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder. The administration announced they are attempting to dismantle a similar agreement in Louisville, Ky., and reel back police reforms attempted under former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Minneapolis hurried to reach a pending agreement with federal officials late last year before the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

Magnuson wrote that the DOJ’s investigation and pending consent decree contain no data to back up findings that the police department engaged in a systemic pattern of rights violations, making it impossible for the court to evaluate progress.

He concluded that the “considerable sum” of money needed to carry out the consent decree, including $750,000 per year for a monitor, “would better fund hiring police officers to bolster the City’s dwindling police force and promote public safety.”

The city is still under a court-enforceable agreement struck in 2023 with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. Magnuson pointed to the state agreement as reason to dismiss the case, calling another layer of federal oversight “superfluous.”

City leaders have previously said there’s benefit to a federal decree, as the state agreement doesn’t cover every reform effort.

Mayor Jacob Frey and Chief Brian O’Hara last week assured reform efforts would continue even if the federal decree was dismissed.

Frey reiterated the statement following Magnuson’s decision.

“The bottom line is that we are doing it anyway. We will implement every reform in the 169-page consent decree,” Frey said. “Minneapolis is making great progress on police reform, and we don’t need permission from Washington or a federal judge to keep pushing forward.”

The city will ask the independent monitor for the state’s agreement, Effective Law Enforcement for All, to oversee changes outlined in the federal decree, Frey added.