DOJ consent decree will not save us

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Last week, the city of Minneapolis announced it had reached a tentative agreement with the Federal Department of Justice (DOJ) on a consent decree for the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD).

The timing of the announcement, 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, suggests a lot about how city leaders want residents to think about this consent decree. That is to say, they’d rather you think about something else.

Because while many people across the city are understandably relieved that the DOJ will sign off on a consent decree before Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, we must remember that this is not a cause for celebration, but an indictment on the failures of the MPD and the person with sole authority over the department: Mayor Jacob Frey.

The U.S. Department of Justice consent decree is a good step toward accountability and reform, but it will not save us or our broken system of policing.

The MPD is already operating under one consent decree, which was issued by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights in March 2023. Within a month of the consent decree going into effect, MPD officers were violating its stipulations.

There are other concerning signs when it comes to MPD’s willingness to engage with the consent decree in a meaningful way. The attempted hiring of Tyler Timberlake in January 2023 raises serious questions about the department’s desires to reform its hiring practices.

We also need to be honest about the incoming administration in the White House and whether or not we expect them to enforce a consent decree. I am skeptical that much will be done in the way of enforcement considering Trump’s first presidential administration referred to these efforts as a “war on police.”

The consent decree won’t save us.

The only thing that will save our city is leadership ready and willing to commit to a comprehensive vision for public safety.

It’s been more than four years since the murder of George Floyd by MPD Officer Derek Chauvin. That murder was not an isolated incident, but part of a generations-long pattern of abuse. We grappled with the future of policing in Minneapolis during the 2021 elections. We had tough conversations with our families, our neighbors and ourselves about where we wanted to go.

And while people disagreed on the exact next steps, everyone agreed — or at least stated publicly — things had to change. Real reform was needed.

As we enter the last year of Mayor Frey’s second term, people across the city are now wondering: Where’s the change? Where’s the plan? We’ve seen an increase of $59 million in spending on the MPD, including historic raises for officers this summer. But despite what the mayor and his allies might tell us, pouring money into the problem is not a solution.

What we need is a vision for public safety. What we have is a mayor who refuses to give us one.

After his re-election, Frey put together his own public safety workgroup, only to ignore the recommendations in its 2021 report. He pivoted to outside experts, commissioning a new plan. Antonio Oftelie of Harvard co-authored the Minneapolis Safe and Thriving Communities Report, a 143-page document outlining specific steps over 10 years to build a robust and comprehensive plan for public safety, including police, as well as health and human services. The plan was presented to the city in July 2023, but Frey has since let it languish.

This past budget cycle, the City Council committed to many of the steps outlined in the Safe and Thriving Communities Report, with important investments in Behavioral Crisis Response Teams and civilian investigators, but the mayor vetoed the budget, dismissing the investments. The council can only do so much when the mayor has sole authority over MPD.

With everything our city has been through, residents deserve a vision for public safety and public accountability about the work being done. Mayor Frey’s failure to deliver meaningful and tangible reforms has left a vacuum too easily filled by fear. That’s no way to lead. And it’s no way for residents to live.

If we want meaningful public safety reform, we don’t just need a consent decree. We need a new mayor.

Jim Davnie was a DFL member of the Minnesota House from 2001 to 2022. His district covered parts of Minneapolis.