# Minneapolis agreement *A court-enforceable settlement between the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and the City of Minneapolis and its police department, approved in 2023.* The Minneapolis agreement is the settlement that resolved the charge the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) filed on June 1, 2020 against the [[City of Minneapolis]] and the [[Minneapolis Police Department]] (MPD). On April 27, 2022, MDHR found "probable cause that the City and MPD engage in a pattern or practice of race discrimination in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act."[^1] The settlement was filed on March 31, 2023. Judge Karen Janisch of [[Hennepin County District Court]] approved it on July 13, 2023 in *Minnesota v. Minneapolis Police Department*, [[No. 27-CV-23-4177]]. It terminates only on a judicial finding of "full, effective, and sustained compliance."[^2][^3] A federal track ran alongside it. The U.S. Department of Justice opened a pattern-or-practice investigation of the City and MPD on April 21, 2021, one day after the [[Chauvin verdict]].[^4] On June 16, 2023, it announced findings of reasonable cause.[^5] A [[consent decree]] was filed on January 6, 2025 in *United States v. City of Minneapolis*, No. 0:25-cv-00048.[^6] On May 21, 2025, the Department moved to "dismiss with prejudice" and retracted its findings.[^7] Judge [[Paul A. Magnuson]] granted the dismissal.[^8][^4] The two tracks diverged in how they could end. The Department's May 2025 release, quoting Assistant Attorney General Dhillon, described the dismissals as "ending the Biden Civil Rights Division's failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders."[^7] In granting dismissal, the judge wrote of "grave misgivings about the proposed consent decree serving the public interest."[^8] The federal decree ended on the Department's motion. The state agreement can end only on a court's finding of compliance.[^2] Its docket was not closed as of the project's dossier date of September 2, 2026.[^3] ## Who MDHR filed the charge and found probable cause. The respondents were the City of Minneapolis and MPD.[^1] Judge Karen Janisch of Hennepin County District Court approved the settlement. An [[independent evaluator]], ELEFA, was engaged to assess compliance.[^2][^9] On the federal side, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division made the 2023 findings.[^5] Under Assistant Attorney General Dhillon, the Division sought dismissal in 2025.[^7] Judge Paul A. Magnuson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota ruled on that motion.[^8] ## What The agreement is a court-enforceable settlement of a state civil-rights charge brought under the [[Minnesota Human Rights Act]].[^1][^2] MDHR publishes the agreement and related documents on its document hub.[^9] It is a separate instrument from the federal consent decree in [[United States v. City of Minneapolis (MPD consent decree)]]. That decree ran 169 pages and provided for an independent monitor. It was filed in federal court, not in Hennepin County.[^6] ## When The state track ran in this order: - MDHR filed its charge on June 1, 2020. - MDHR found probable cause on April 27, 2022.[^1] - The settlement was filed on March 31, 2023 and approved on July 13, 2023. - The independent evaluator began work on March 18, 2024.[^2] The federal track ran in this order: - The Department of Justice opened its investigation on April 21, 2021.[^4] - It announced findings on June 16, 2023.[^5] - The consent decree was filed on January 6, 2025.[^6] - The Department moved to dismiss on May 21, 2025.[^7] The sources disagree on the dismissal date by one day. The Clearinghouse docket dates the dismissal May 27, 2025. Sahan Journal reports that the order issued on May 28, 2025.[^4][^8] ## Where The state agreement is before Hennepin County District Court.[^3] The federal case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.[^6] Both concern policing in [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]].[^1] ## Why The agreement rests on MDHR's April 27, 2022 probable-cause finding of a pattern or practice of race discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act.[^1] The federal findings of June 16, 2023 were a separate determination. The Department found reasonable cause that MPD "uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and unreasonable use of tasers." It also found that MPD "unlawfully discriminates against Black people and Native American people in its enforcement activities."[^5] The full findings report runs 89 pages.[^10] The Department retracted those findings on May 21, 2025.[^7] The record in this pack does not show any retraction of the MDHR finding.[^1][^3] ## How The agreement is enforced by the court. Its termination condition is a judicial finding of "full, effective, and sustained compliance," and an independent evaluator assesses compliance.[^2][^9] The federal instrument ended through a different procedure. The Department's May 21, 2025 release moved to dismiss with prejudice both the Minneapolis suit and a suit involving [[Louisville]], and closed both investigations. In the same release, the Department retracted its findings as to [[Phoenix]], [[Trenton]], [[Memphis]], [[Mount Vernon]], [[Oklahoma City]] and the [[Louisiana State Police]].[^7] Judge Magnuson granted dismissal with prejudice and denied the settlement-approval motion as moot.[^8] ## How many MDHR's investigation report gives the following figures:[^1] - 13 of the 14 people killed by MPD officers since 2010 were people of color or Indigenous. - Black residents were 19% of the city's population but 63% of recorded use-of-force incidents from 2010 to 2020. - Black residents were 54% of officer-initiated traffic stops and 78% of all searches from 2017 to 2020. ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record carries two items on the agreement: - [[At issue 028 - The state agreement is court-enforceable and terminates only]] states that the agreement terminates only on a judicial finding of "full, effective, and sustained compliance." It also states that the agreement had not terminated three years after its July 13, 2023 approval.[^2][^3] - [[At issue 030 - The independent evaluator for the Minneapolis agreement began]] states that the independent evaluator began on March 18, 2024, twenty-two months after the April 27, 2022 probable-cause finding.[^1][^2] The record shows the dates of the finding, the approval and the evaluator's start. It does not establish the reasons for the interval between them.[^2] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who - MDHR is the charging agency.[^1] - The City of Minneapolis and MPD are the respondents.[^1] - Judge Karen Janisch is the approving judge.[^2] - ELEFA is the independent evaluator.[^2] ### When - June 1, 2020: MDHR charge filed.[^1] - April 27, 2022: probable-cause finding.[^1] - March 31, 2023: settlement filed.[^2] - July 13, 2023: settlement approved, No. 27-CV-23-4177.[^2][^3] - March 18, 2024: independent evaluator began.[^2] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *Investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department* (April 27, 2022) — charge filed June 1, 2020; probable-cause finding of a pattern or practice of race discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act; 13 of 14 people killed by MPD officers since 2010 were people of color or Indigenous; use-of-force, traffic-stop and search shares. https://mn.gov/mdhr/assets/Investigation%20into%20the%20City%20of%20Minneapolis%20and%20the%20Minneapolis%20Police%20Department_tcm1061-526417.pdf [^2]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *Civil rights update: Minneapolis Police Department agreement* (2023–2024) — settlement filed March 31, 2023; approved by Judge Karen Janisch July 13, 2023; terminates only on a finding of full, effective, and sustained compliance; independent evaluator ELEFA began March 18, 2024. https://mn.gov/mdhr/news-community/newsroom/civilrightsupdates.jsp?id=1061-584578 [^3]: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, *Minnesota v. Minneapolis Police Department*, No. 27-CV-23-4177 (docket) — Hennepin County District Court case and status of the state agreement. https://clearinghouse.net/case/43326/ [^4]: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, *United States v. City of Minneapolis* (docket) — DOJ pattern-or-practice investigation opened April 21, 2021 under 34 U.S.C. § 12601; dismissal dated May 27, 2025. https://clearinghouse.net/case/18178/ [^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Justice Department Finds Civil Rights Violations by the Minneapolis Police Department and the City of Minneapolis*, release 23-674 (June 16, 2023) — reasonable-cause findings on excessive force and discrimination. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-civil-rights-violations-minneapolis-police-department-and-city [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, *Justice Department Reaches Agreement with the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department* (January 6, 2025) — 169-page consent decree filed in *United States v. City of Minneapolis*, No. 0:25-cv-00048 (D. Minn.), providing for an independent monitor. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-reaches-agreement-city-minneapolis-and-minneapolis-police-department [^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Civil Rights Division Dismisses Biden-Era Police Investigations*, release 25-534 (May 21, 2025) — motion to dismiss with prejudice the Minneapolis and Louisville suits; retraction of findings including Phoenix, Trenton, Memphis, Mount Vernon, Oklahoma City and the Louisiana State Police; statement of AAG Dhillon. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-department-justices-civil-rights-division-dismisses-biden-era-police-investigations-and [^8]: Sahan Journal, *Minneapolis federal consent decree dismissed* (May 2025) — Judge Paul A. Magnuson granted dismissal with prejudice, denied the settlement-approval motion as moot, and cited grave misgivings; order reported as issued May 28, 2025. https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/minneapolis-federal-consent-decree-dismissed/ [^9]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *MPD agreement* (document hub) — text of the court-enforceable agreement and related compliance documents. https://mn.gov/mdhr/mpd/agreement/ [^10]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Investigation of the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department* (June 16, 2023) — full 89-page findings report. https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-06/minneapolis_findings_report.pdf