US Justice Department ends federal police reform agreements

The Trump administration has initiated the termination of federal involvement in overseeing local police reforms, a civil rights initiative that gained momentum following the deaths of unarmed Black individuals such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

On Wednesday, the US Department of Justice announced it would withdraw two planned agreements that would have subjected the Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis, Minnesota police departments to federal oversight. These agreements, known as consent decrees, typically set a framework of reforms negotiated between cities and the federal government, enforced by federal courts.

Additionally, the Justice Department revealed it would retract reports on six other police departments that had been found to engage in discriminatory practices and excessive use of force.

The Trump administration justified this move by emphasizing a shift of responsibility back to local governments and states, reducing federal micromanagement. Harmeet Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General, argued that federal oversight often wastes taxpayer money and diminishes local control, calling it an “industry” that harms safety and accountability.

Civil rights advocates, however, condemned the decision, especially as it came just before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death. Reverend Al Sharpton criticized it as a moral failure that undermines accountability for victims of racial injustice.

The deaths of Floyd and Taylor sparked nationwide protests and renewed calls for police reform, leading the Biden administration to initiate multiple investigations into police departments suspected of systemic abuses.

Floyd’s murder occurred in Minneapolis, and Taylor’s in Louisville — the two cities where the federal oversight agreements are now being dropped. Both cities had been found to have patterns of discriminatory policing under the Biden Justice Department.

While local officials in Louisville and Minneapolis reaffirmed their commitment to reform independent of federal mandates, some community leaders worry the withdrawal of federal oversight could hinder progress in policing reforms.