DOJ Ends Police Reform Decrees in Louisville, Minneapolis

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced it will end all ongoing police reform consent decrees, including those involving the Louisville Metro Police Department and Minneapolis, which were initiated under the Biden administration following investigations into unconstitutional policing and civil rights violations. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon criticized these agreements as unjustified, claiming they wrongly equated statistical disparities with intentional discrimination and imposed costly, federally mandated micromanagement that undermined local control. The DOJ plans to dismiss related lawsuits and investigations against multiple other police departments nationwide, signaling a significant shift away from federal oversight toward restoring local control of policing. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg affirmed the city's commitment to continuing police reforms through a specific, community-accountable plan with an independent monitor, despite the DOJ's withdrawal. This move reflects broader changes in the DOJ's Civil Rights Division under Dhillon's leadership, including a pivot away from racial discrimination cases to other priorities and significant staff turnover. The decision comes shortly before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd's death, which, along with Breonna Taylor's killing, had originally prompted the federal investigations and reform efforts.