# No. 27-CV-23-4177 *Minnesota v. Minneapolis Police Department*, Hennepin County District Court docket for the court-enforceable MDHR–MPD settlement approved July 13, 2023 No. 27-CV-23-4177 is the [[Hennepin County District Court]] docket in *Minnesota v. Minneapolis Police Department*. Under it, the State of [[Minnesota]], acting through the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR), entered a court-enforceable settlement with the [[Minneapolis Police Department]] (MPD). Judge Karen Janisch approved the settlement on July 13, 2023.[^1][^2] The agreement ends only when the court finds "full, effective, and sustained compliance."[^1][^3] The settlement followed an MDHR charge filed June 1, 2020. On April 27, 2022, MDHR found probable cause that the City and MPD engaged in a pattern or practice of race discrimination under the [[Minnesota Human Rights Act]].[^4] The U.S. Department of Justice pursued a parallel federal case. It opened an investigation in 2021, issued findings in 2023 and filed a consent decree in January 2025. On May 21, 2025, the Department moved to dismiss that case with prejudice and retracted its findings.[^5][^6][^8][^9] The project's at-issue record draws on a dossier dated September 2, 2026. As of that date, it states that the state agreement had not terminated.[^2][^3] ## Who The parties were the State of Minnesota, acting through MDHR, and MPD. MDHR's probable-cause finding was directed at the [[City of Minneapolis]] and MPD.[^1][^4] Hennepin County District Court Judge Karen Janisch approved the settlement.[^1] An [[independent evaluator]], ELEFA, was engaged under the agreement.[^1] ## What The instrument is a settlement enforceable by the court. It does not end on a fixed date or when either party decides to end it. It ends only when the court finds "full, effective, and sustained compliance."[^1][^2] Compliance is reviewed by an independent evaluator. MDHR keeps the settlement and related documents on a public document hub.[^1][^3] ## When - **June 1, 2020:** MDHR filed its charge against the City and MPD.[^4] - **April 27, 2022:** MDHR issued its probable-cause finding.[^4] - **March 31, 2023:** The settlement was filed.[^1] - **July 13, 2023:** Judge Karen Janisch of Hennepin County District Court approved the settlement under No. 27-CV-23-4177.[^1][^2] - **March 18, 2024:** The independent evaluator, ELEFA, began work.[^1] ## Where The case is in Hennepin County District Court. The conduct MDHR examined was policing by MPD in [[Minneapolis]].[^2][^4] ## Why MDHR's April 2022 report 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."[^4] The settlement was the state's remedy for that finding. Beyond the termination standard and the evaluator, the pack does not set out the agreement's specific terms.[^1][^3] ## How The state case moved from charge to investigation to finding to settlement. MDHR filed its charge in June 2020 and found probable cause in April 2022. The settlement was filed in March 2023 and approved by the court that July.[^1][^4] The agreement is enforced through the district court, with an independent evaluator reviewing compliance from March 2024.[^1][^2] The two cases ended, or did not end, in different ways. The federal consent decree ended after the Department of Justice moved to dismiss its own suit. The state agreement can end only through a judicial finding of compliance.[^1][^9] ## How many MDHR's report found that 13 of the 14 people killed by MPD officers since 2010 were people of color or Indigenous.[^4] It found that Black residents were 19% of the city's population. Yet from 2010 to 2020 they accounted for 63% of recorded use-of-force incidents. From 2017 to 2020 they accounted for 54% of officer-initiated traffic stops and 78% of all searches.[^4] ## In the at-issue record At-issue row 028 sets the state agreement beside the federal instruments ([[At issue 028 - The state agreement is court-enforceable and terminates only]]).[^2] The row states that the agreement "is court-enforceable" and that it "terminates only on a judicial finding" of full, effective, and sustained compliance. It also states: "Three years on, it has not terminated."[^1][^2] That status is as of the September 2, 2026 dossier. The pack contains no court filing recording a termination finding.[^2][^3] The federal record runs as follows. - **April 21, 2021:** The Department of Justice opened a pattern-or-practice investigation of the City and MPD under 34 U.S.C. § 12601. This was one day after the [[Chauvin verdict]].[^5] - **June 16, 2023:** In release 23-674, the Civil Rights Division found reasonable cause that MPD "uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force and unreasonable use of tasers." It also found reasonable cause that MPD "unlawfully discriminates against Black people and Native American people in its enforcement activities."[^6] The Department published an 89-page findings report.[^7] - **January 6, 2025:** The Department filed a 169-page consent decree providing for an independent monitor. The case was *United States v. City of Minneapolis*, No. 0:25-cv-00048 (D. Minn.) ([[United States v. City of Minneapolis (MPD consent decree)]]).[^8] - **May 21, 2025:** In release 25-534, the Department moved to "dismiss with prejudice" both the Minneapolis suit and the [[Louisville]] suit. It closed both investigations and retracted their findings. It also retracted its findings on [[Phoenix]], [[Trenton]], [[Memphis]], [[Mount Vernon]], [[Oklahoma City]] and the [[Louisiana State Police]].[^9] The release quoted Assistant Attorney General Dhillon describing the action as "ending the Biden Civil Rights Division's failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders."[^9] The findings retracted in Minneapolis were the June 16, 2023 findings of excessive force and discrimination listed above.[^6][^9] - **Dismissal order:** Judge [[Paul A. Magnuson]] dismissed the case with prejudice and denied the motion to approve the settlement as moot. He cited "grave misgivings about the proposed consent decree serving the public interest."[^10] The Clearinghouse docket dates the dismissal May 27, 2025, while Sahan Journal reports the order issued May 28, 2025. The record carries both dates and does not resolve the difference.[^5][^10] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *Newsroom civil-rights update on the MPD settlement* (n.d.) — establishes that the settlement was filed March 31, 2023 and approved by Hennepin County District Court Judge Karen Janisch on July 13, 2023 under No. 27-CV-23-4177. It also establishes that the agreement terminates only on a finding of "full, effective, and sustained compliance" and that the independent evaluator ELEFA began work March 18, 2024. https://mn.gov/mdhr/news-community/newsroom/civilrightsupdates.jsp?id=1061-584578 [^2]: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, *Minnesota v. Minneapolis Police Department*, case 43326 (n.d.) — docket for No. 27-CV-23-4177, with the court approval and case status. https://clearinghouse.net/case/43326/ [^3]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *MPD agreement document hub* (n.d.) — the settlement and related documents. https://mn.gov/mdhr/mpd/agreement/ [^4]: Minnesota Department of Human Rights, *Investigation into the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department* (April 27, 2022) — establishes the charge filed June 1, 2020 and the probable-cause finding under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. It also reports that 13 of 14 people killed by MPD officers since 2010 were people of color or Indigenous, and gives the 19%, 63%, 54% and 78% figures. https://mn.gov/mdhr/assets/Investigation%20into%20the%20City%20of%20Minneapolis%20and%20the%20Minneapolis%20Police%20Department_tcm1061-526417.pdf [^5]: Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse, *United States v. City of Minneapolis*, case 18178 (n.d.) — establishes that the investigation opened April 21, 2021 under 34 U.S.C. § 12601, and that the docket dates the dismissal May 27, 2025. https://clearinghouse.net/case/18178/ [^6]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Justice Department finds civil rights violations by Minneapolis Police Department and City*, release 23-674 (June 16, 2023) — reasonable-cause findings of excessive force and discrimination. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-civil-rights-violations-minneapolis-police-department-and-city [^7]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Investigation of the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Police Department: findings report* (June 2023) — the full 89-page findings report. https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-06/minneapolis_findings_report.pdf [^8]: U.S. Department of Justice, *Justice Department reaches agreement with City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Police Department* (January 6, 2025) — establishes the 169-page consent decree in No. 0:25-cv-00048 (D. Minn.), with an independent monitor. https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-reaches-agreement-city-minneapolis-and-minneapolis-police-department [^9]: U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, *Civil Rights Division dismisses Biden-era police investigations*, release 25-534 (May 21, 2025) — establishes the motion to dismiss with prejudice, the closure of the investigations, the retraction of findings as to Minneapolis, Louisville and six other jurisdictions, and the Dhillon statement. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/us-department-justices-civil-rights-division-dismisses-biden-era-police-investigations-and [^10]: Sahan Journal, *Minneapolis federal consent decree dismissed* (May 2025) — reports that Judge Paul A. Magnuson granted dismissal with prejudice, citing "grave misgivings," in an order issued May 28, 2025. https://sahanjournal.com/public-safety/minneapolis-federal-consent-decree-dismissed/