Trump’s Justice Department blocks police reform agreements

CNN
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The Trump administration is halting agreements that require reforms by police departments where the Justice Department has found a pattern of misconduct, according to a memo released Wednesday.

“The new administration may wish to reconsider settlements and consent decrees that were negotiated and approved by the previous administration,” said the memo from Acting Assistant Attorney General Chad Mizelle.

Mizelle directed the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division “not to execute or enter into any settlements or consent decrees prior to 12:00 p.m. on January 20, 2025.” The memo also calls on civil rights attorneys to notify Mizelle of any settlements or consent decrees made in recent years 90 days were completed.

The move was widely expected with the change in administration and has the potential to upend police reform efforts in Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, announced by the Justice Department in the final weeks of the Biden administration.

The consent decree agreements with both cities await final approval from judges in those states, meaning the Trump administration’s Justice Department could seek to scuttle the agreements.

A separate memo from Mizelle on Wednesday directed civil rights attorneys to “not file any new complaints, motions to intervene, agreed-upon remands, amicus briefs or expressions of interest” until further notice. It is common for new governments to review pending litigation to determine whether it is consistent with their policy positions. But current and former justice officials say new administrations typically try to conduct reviews on a case-by-case basis.

President Donald Trump and Republican allies have long criticized the use of judicial consent decrees to push through police reform efforts.

During his campaign, Trump vowed to “Back the Blue,” a slogan intended to show support for police even when officers are accused of misconduct or civil rights violations. In Trump’s first administration, the Justice Department also tried to thwart police consent decrees.

The Louisville decree was issued in mid-December after a years-long investigation by the city’s police force following the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020.

Among the proposed reforms outlined in the agreement was a requirement that Louisville police officers “use appropriate de-escalation techniques and attempt to resolve incidents without force when possible and to use force in a manner that is reasonable, necessary and proportionate to the threat presented.” .” .”

Additionally, the department was charged with “fully, fairly and efficiently investigating allegations of officer misconduct and holding all officers who commit misconduct accountable through fair and consistent discipline.”

The agreement with Minneapolis, reached earlier this month, came years after the killing of George Floyd by city police department officers. An investigation into the department by the U.S. Department of Justice found that the officers used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force.”

The agreement focused, among other things, on Minneapolis “preventing excessive force; ending racially discriminatory policing; “improving officers’ interactions with youth” and “protecting the public’s First Amendment rights,” according to the DOJ.

During Trump’s first term, the Justice Department sought to overturn an Obama-era consent decree for the Baltimore Police Department that had not yet been approved by a judge when the new administration took office.

But that effort ultimately failed as a federal judge in Maryland said the Justice Department’s move to scrap the agreement came too late.

“The time to raise ‘serious concerns’ has passed and instead the parties must now implement the agreement as promised,” U.S. District Court Judge James Bredar wrote in an April 2017 decision.

This story has been updated with additional details.