Minneapolis police union seeks to intervene as city awaits judge’s approval of consent decree

The Minneapolis police union filed a motion to intervene Friday in the federal court case that lays out the agreement between the city and federal government to reform policing.

It also emerged Friday that the agreement appears unlikely to be approved by a federal judge before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated Monday, raising questions about its future.

The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis said in a statement that as the exclusive bargaining representative for sworn members of the Police Department, “we have concerns over how this agreement impacts our members’ working conditions, employment terms, and collective bargaining rights.”

If the motion is granted, the union would become a party in the case and be able to formally present its concerns to the judge, federal government and city.

On Jan. 6, Minneapolis officials reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice outlining sweeping reforms to address discriminatory policing. The consent decree — a legally binding agreement enforced by an independent monitor — lays out how the Police Department will reform its training, discipline and policies to address systemic problems outlined by the Justice Department in 2023.

Normally, a hearing would be held on all pending motions before a settlement are approved. Since the motion was just filed Friday, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson has not yet set a hearing date.

City and Justice Department officials undoubtedly hoped the consent decree would be ratified by the judge before Trump takes office. The president-elect has been hostile to such consent decrees, scaling them back during his first term and dismissing them as a “war on police.”

The police union’s attorney, James Michels, said that when he called to schedule a hearing on his motion, Magnuson‘s deputy said the judge wanted more time to read all the documents that have been filed before scheduling any hearings.

In other words, Magnuson was unlikely to approved the deal by Monday anyway.

“Certainly not,” Michels said. “I’m sure knowing Judge Magnuson and how thorough he is ... he’s not going to rule on something ... until he’s had a chance to digest it.”

Cynthia Coe, the Justice Department’s deputy chief in the civil rights division, said during a Tuesday virtual meeting with Minneapolis residents that the lawyers working on the consent decree are “career personnel” who continue their work regardless of changes in presidential administration.

“We will continue to do the work no matter what happens,” Coe said.

The union is concerned that some provisions violate, compromise or limit its collective bargaining rights. For example, one provision affects the scheduling of sergeants and lieutenants. If it violates the labor agreement, that would need to be negotiated, Michels said.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to disagree with what the DOJ and city want to do,” he said. “In fact, there’s a lot of things we agree with” such as more training and mental health support for officers.

“It’s not just all contrarian here,” Michels said.

He said that even if the judge approved the agreement Friday, that doesn’t mean the Trump administration would enforce it.

“Are they going to pick up the ball and carry it?” Michels said. “Or drop the ball and say, ‘No, we’re done.‘”

City officials were not available for comment Friday afternoon.