Minneapolis, human rights officials will negotiate agreement on police by fall

Minneapolis leaders and state human rights officials say they are on track to negotiate the terms of a court-enforceable agreement by this fall to address findings of illegal behavior in the city's Police Department.

Six weeks after returning to the negotiating table amid a disagreement on evidence, the city released a "Joint Statement of Principles" on Thursday, signaling they have resolved some — but not all — of the major disputes that stalled talks early on.

"Although the City does not agree with all of [Minnesota Department of Human Rights'] findings, it agrees that a number of MDHR's findings raise important issues, and the City is committed to addressing those issues," says the joint statement, signed by Mayor Jacob Frey, City Council President Andrea Jenkins and Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero.

The most significant revelation in the document is that the two parties have come up with a contingency plan in the event an ongoing Justice Department investigation also finds a pattern and practice of illegal behavior in the Minneapolis Police Department, as many expect it will. Frey and other city officials have been blunt about not wanting two consent decrees with possibly competing sets of standards and overseen by two referees, called "monitors."

The joint statement released Thursday says that if the Justice Department does reach a consent decree with the city, the state will modify its agreement if necessary to eliminate "conflicting provisions" and ensure there is only one monitor charged with making sure the agreement is followed.

The Human Rights Department charged Minneapolis with a pattern of racist policing in violation of state law in April, after an investigation beginning with the murder of George Floyd.

At the time, then-City Attorney James Rowader said he was "fully committed to working with MDHR to address the issues in the report." But Rowader resigned two weeks later, and the city's lawyers skipped meetings with human rights leaders after saying they couldn't verify some of the findings. Among the evidence in dispute: that Minneapolis police used covert accounts to spy on Black people and Black organizations with no public safety objective, and didn't surveil white supremacist groups.

Last month, acting City Attorney Peter Ginder said the city wasn't backing away from its commitment, but it needed more precise information to continue. In a letter to Frey and other Minneapolis leaders, Lucero said the city already possessed the evidence to corroborate her agency's findings, and that she did not intend to release more data. In June, after six weeks of deadlock, the city reluctantly returned to negotiations.

The city and human rights leaders have now committed to a "frequent schedule" of meetings in coming months "to meet the importance of this moment" and craft the agreement by fall, according to the joint statement released this week.

The document says two parties will operate "in good faith" to develop and implement a framework that includes ensuring "non-discriminatory policing is lawfully delivered to better support public safety in Minneapolis focusing specifically on the use of force, supervision, traffic stop enforcement, arrests, training, accountability and oversight systems."

"MDHR looks forward to next steps to address race-based policing that undermines public safety in Minneapolis," said Taylor Putz, human rights spokesman .

"For years, our Black and Brown residents have been telling us about the racism they face daily at the hands of the MPD," Jenkins said in a statement. "I stand ready to work with all who are ready to fight for justice, equity and fair treatment for everyone."