Attorney General Merrick Garland will announce that the Department of Justice will begin a thorough investigation into police practices in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s verdict, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday, April 21, 2021.
The announcement came the day after Floyd’s death last May, when former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter, bringing relief and sadness throughout the country. The death of a black man caused months of massive protests against police in the United States.
The Justice Department has already investigated whether police officers involved in Floyd’s death violated Floyd’s civil rights. The investigation, released Wednesday, is known as a “pattern or practice” and will be a more thorough investigation of the entire department, which could make a big difference to police there, officials said. Talk publicly about the next announcement scheduled for Wednesday morning.
The investigation examines the practices used by police and whether the department engages in discriminatory practices, especially the handling of allegations of misconduct in the department. It is unknown how far it goes back.
The Justice Department did not comment.
This decision was made because President Joe Biden promised that his administration would not rest following the jury’s decision. In a speech on Tuesday evening, he said he needed to do more.
“‘I can’t breathe’ was George Floyd’s last word,” Biden said. “We can’t let those words die with him. We have to keep listening to those words. Don’t turn your back. You can’t turn your back.”
The Department of Justice had previously considered launching police station patterns and hands-on investigations shortly after Floyd’s death, but Attorney General Bill Barr said widespread protests and further division of law enforcement agencies among citizens. Three people familiar with the anxiety and problems who were hesitant to do so at the time told the AP, fearing that it could cause.
