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The city of Minneapolis is in a rush to finalize a consent decree with the Biden Department of Justice. According to the Star Tribune, the terms of the consent decree mandate “sweeping police reforms.”

Why the rush? Because city authorities fear they may not be able to turn authority over the department to the incoming Trump administration. They want to sell out the police department while they can. It may be too late after January 20.

The consent decree would subject the Minneapolis Police Department to continuing federal oversight. The Star Tribune does not quote a single source or authority explaining why such a consent decree is preferable to the status quo, which includes the department’s agreement to a settlement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.

Most cities do not seek to give up authority over their own police departments. As the Star Tribune story observes: “Minneapolis [would] become the first city in the nation with its police department governed by both state and federal mandates.” It is another opportunity for Minneapolis to achieve a dubious distinction.

Why would turning authority over to a federal overseer be a good thing? The Star Tribune does not pause to explain. It is to be taken as a self-evident truth of the “experts say” variety: “Federal consent decrees can last longer than a decade and cost tens of millions to enforce, experts say, but have proved to reduce police brutality in some cities.” Woo hoo!

The proposed terms of the consent decree derive from Attorney General Merrick Garland’s visit on June 16, 2023. At that time Garland essentially indicted the Minneapolis Police Department for racism, found it guilty, and announced the terms to which municipal authorities had putatively agreed. The Department of Justice press release is here, Garland’s remarks at the press conference here, the DoJ’s 89-page report here, and the parties’ settlement in principle here.

The report reflects the results of the DoJ investigation launched in the wake of Derek Chauvin’s conviction of the murder of George Floyd in April 2021. According to the report, the Minneapolis Police Department uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force, unlawfully discriminates against blacks and Native Americans, violates free speech rights, and discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to calls. “The patterns and practices of conduct the Justice Department observed during our investigation are deeply disturbing,” Garland said at the news conference in Minneapolis.

It’s a shame former MPD Chief Medaria Arradondo was absent. Arradondo came up through the ranks to become the department’s first black chief. Did he know he was running a racist department in the years he was responsible for its leadership (2017-2022)? Arradondo could not be reached for comment (not that any reporter has tried). The current Star Tribune story does not even include a quote from MPD Chief Brian O’Hara.

Greg Pulles is the former general counsel and secretary of TCF Financial Corporation. Greg was available for comment. Greg commented on the DoJ report for us in “Garland of thorns.”

Jukka Savolainen and John Paul Wright followed up with the kind of multivariate analysis Greg insisted on bringing to the subject. Savolainen is the former director of the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data and a professor of criminology and criminal justice at Wayne State University. Wright is a professor at the University of Cincinnati School of Criminal Justice. Their City Journal essay is titled “Maligning Minneapolis.”

The essay might better have been titled “Maligning the Minneapolis Police Department.” In this case, Minneapolis maligns itself. Municipal authorities are only too happy to plead guilty on behalf of the Minneapolis Police Department. As the report subhead put it: “The Department of Justice report on policing in the Twin Cities is a political stunt disguised as an impartial investigation” — as Greg Pulles was saying.