Overview

• The Justice Department announced it will dismiss federal consent decrees with Minneapolis and Louisville, halting court-enforceable police reform agreements initiated under the Biden administration.
• Investigations into police misconduct in Phoenix, Memphis, Trenton, Mount Vernon, Oklahoma City, and the Louisiana State Police will also be closed, with findings of constitutional violations retracted.
• Minneapolis and Louisville officials pledged to implement reform measures independently, with Minneapolis already under a state-level consent decree.
• The decision, announced days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's death, signals a significant shift in federal oversight of local law enforcement under the Trump administration.
• Civil rights advocates criticized the move as undermining accountability, while the DOJ cited concerns over the legal defensibility and effectiveness of consent decrees.