Report: Minneapolis police engaged in pattern of illegal racial discrimination

[iemanja]

The Minneapolis Police Department has engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination in violation of the state's civil rights law over the past decade, enabled by several political administrations failing to hold problem officers accountable, according to a scathing report published Wednesday by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

During a two-year investigation, the Human Rights Department found that Minnesota's largest police agency stops, searches, arrests, uses force against and kills people of color — especially Black people — at starkly higher rates than white people, according to the 72-page report.

Minneapolis police also created covert social media accounts — sometimes with no authorization — to surveil Black people and organizations unrelated to criminal activity. Some officers used these phony accounts to pose as community members and criticize public officials online, including a Minneapolis City Council member.

City and Police Department leaders have long been aware of the pattern of discriminatory behavior, which undermines Minneapolis' public safety system, the report found. "Yet, these leaders have not collectively acted with the urgency, coordination, and intentionality necessary to address racial disparities to improve public safety."

https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-department-of-human-rights-to-release-civil-rights-findings/600168389/?refresh=true