A report by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) on the findings of a comprehensive, two-year investigation into violence and police racial discrimination in Minneapolis – where George Floyd, an unarmed African-American, was killed in police custody in May 2020 – found found that the officers had used excessive force, including “unreasonable deadly force”, and violated the rights of people engaged in constitutionally protected speech, particularly African-American and Native American people and people with “behavioral health disabilities”. discriminated against. The findings appeared to confirm a large number of complaints from citizens about police conduct in Minneapolis in the wake of Floyd’s killing, which saw the officers involved sentenced to prison. The salience of the report is underscored by public anger and protests against racism and police brutality on minorities, which erupted in major cities demanding police reforms. The investigation not only found numerous instances of excessive force, unlawful discrimination and First Amendment violations upon review of the 19 police shooting incidents, but also found racism with respect to police actions in the context of traffic stops and arrests and calluses. Was. Violent treatment of some people with mental health conditions. The scathing report concluded that “systemic problems at the MPD made what happened to George Floyd possible”.
The DoJ report is a wake-up call for police institutions, most of which continue with their business-as-usual approach to dealing with the nuances and social complexities of policing multicultural America. Reviews of police body-worn camera video, incident and police reports, and hundreds of complaints filed against officers make it clear that there is an urgent, clear need for police reforms that address the most challenging issues of the use of excessive force. Addresses racial profiling, the bureaucratic-militarization of police culture, and the institutional lack of accountability for police misconduct. Several US states have attempted transformative change, for example by restricting the use of chokeholds and establishing mechanisms for more effective reporting of use of force details. However, public safety, especially in terms of using force against overzealous, armed, police officers of color and other minorities, is really only limited by “when and why the police are called in the first place”. will improve. American culture’s over-reliance on the police to maintain order in public life means that the door has been opened for law enforcement officers to respond to minor crimes in a racially biased manner, especially when in such cases, public health Professionals or other service providers may be better able to address the situation.