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Wednesday, Apr. 23, 2025

Has the Trump administration stalled federal police reform efforts in Minneapolis?

Winter Keefer, MinnPost
yes

The Trump administration has repeatedly blocked Biden-era police reforms in Minneapolis.

In the final weeks of the Biden administration, the Department of Justice reached an agreement with Minneapolis to address issues within the city’s police department. Reforms included:

  • Using de-escalation to reduce the need for force.
  • Maintaining an emergency response system for people with behavioral health disabilities.
  • Improving police interactions with youth.
  • Ensuring accountability for employee misconduct.
  • Respecting First Amendment rights.
  • Barring racial discrimination.

Upon taking office in January, Trump froze all ongoing DOJ civil rights litigation and ordered a review of any agreements made in the last 90 days of the Biden administration. 

Trump’s DOJ won another delay in March when a federal judge paused the review of the reforms, citing the need for the new U.S. attorney general to familiarize himself with the case.

Trump has long opposed consent decrees, calling them a “war on police.”

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