MINNEAPOLIS — Four years after the killing of George Floyd, a close-knit neighborhood in south Minneapolis that was marked by protests and provocative chants of “defund the police” has quieted down, but it has never forgotten a death that sparked a national conversation about social justice and police reform.
As local leaders and residents explore long-term options for the area known worldwide as “George Floyd Square,” many are questioning whether substantial progress has been made on police reform in the city since the tragedy.
“I’m not saying nothing’s changed, but we need more support to fully realize that change,” said Muhammad Abdul-Ahad, executive director of TOUCH Outreach, a violence prevention nonprofit in Minneapolis. “Different people see things differently.”
Rapid Move to Cut Funds
On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the neck of a defenseless Floyd for more than nine minutes in broad daylight, a horrific sequence of events captured on cellphone video by Darnella Frazier, who was 17 at the time, and sparked a national movement.
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For decades, local communities of color have called for action on allegations of police misconduct, claims that were vindicated by a Department of Justice investigation in 2023. Protesters’ calls to defund the police have grown even stronger as local politicians have joined the demands.
In December 2020, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a budget that redirected $8 million from the Police Department to violence prevention and other services based on the city’s performance recommendations.
But by 2021, many city council members who wanted to disband the police department began to backtrack. Some said the police budget cuts should not be taken literally, while others said it was up to interpretation. Only two of the council members who called for police budget cuts are still on the city council, and many of those council members did not seek reelection or were voted out.
“When they asked me, they answered categorically that they wanted to get rid of the police,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey recently told USA Today, “so obviously it meant a lot of different things to a lot of different people.”
Frey faced strong backlash after refusing to make budget cuts to the department, and was booed and chased away by protesters when he made similar comments during a demonstration.
Though there were few calls for Frey to resign, voters largely rejected a 2021 measure to replace the police force, and Frey was easily re-elected. Meanwhile, the Minneapolis Police Department’s budget is growing from $181 million in 2019 to $210 million in 2023, as murders, robberies and thefts remain at the same levels as last year.
“My position has not changed from the beginning,” the mayor continued, “I have said very clearly that while we need fundamental reform and a cultural shift, I will not support cutting the police budget.”
Implementing non-violent initiatives is also part of the culture change as police try to regain the trust of the community, Abdul Ahad said.
“People are still dealing with incredible trauma and pain,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told USA Today. “You can’t separate this trauma from the people who live in this city and lived through this and from the police officers.”
The city will open two new Community Safety Centers to provide services to social service agencies, and the South Minneapolis center will also house the 3rd Precinct Police Department.
City leaders have praised measures formed after Floyd’s death, such as the Behavioral Crisis Response Program, which provides unarmed, trained officers who specialize in intervention and emotional distress, but some City Council members have expressed concerns about contracting with “violence interrupters.”
“We’re on the ground, we were there when police weren’t there and we’re still here,” said Abdul Ahad, whose organization does not currently have a contract with the city. “I hope the City Council understands the urgency of having to solve this issue quickly. It’s getting warmer outside and crime is on the rise.”
Justice Beyond Belief
After Chauvin was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison for second- and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death, and three other Minneapolis officers involved were convicted of violating his civil rights, Minnesota’s top prosecutor realized the work to find justice is not over.
“Justice to me means some form of healing, real change,” Attorney General Keith Ellison told USA Today. “I always felt that we had to win this case to get justice, but winning didn’t mean justice would be achieved.”
The state legislature passed restrictions on “no-knock” warrants after Amir Locke was killed at the hands of another Minneapolis police officer in 2022. Hennepin County had the most warrants requested and executed in 2022, according to a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension report.
O’Hara, who takes over as Minneapolis police chief in 2022, said a big area of reform he wants to address is engaging with the culture and community by auditing body camera footage and taking corrective action.
The Minneapolis Police Officer Standards and Training Board could not revoke Chauvin’s license without a murder conviction, but the standards were changed in 2023 to allow the board to revoke his license for conduct violations and excessive or unreasonable use of force.
As with Minneapolis, O’Hara oversaw the Newark Police Department’s consent decree and held the department accountable for reforms.
“We have really great employees, we’re just working within a broken system,” O’Hara said.
But Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty took a different stance, specifically saying the Minneapolis Police Department hasn’t worked closely with her office. “To support real fundamental reform, we need everyone’s cooperation, and right now we’re not seeing that,” Moriarty said.
“There was a lot of optimism.”
Four years ago, Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat, hoped that the trauma experienced by her district and the black community would be a catalyst for change.
“There was a lot of optimism about what that moment could bring,” Omar recently told USA Today.
Omar previously advocated for reducing the police budget, but now supports redirecting some of the funding to racial equity and community safety programs rather than cutting police forces.
“[It] “It was an aspirational call, a rallying cry,” she said. “It’s something that a lot of people are sticking to, and it’s possible that there will be an allocation.”
She added that Congress’ inaction on the George Floyd Police Justice Act and the Amir Locke End Deadly No-Knock Warrants Act has thwarted hopes of federal legislation. “The lack of change is heartbreaking,” Omar said.
Abdul-Ahad said many people want to move on from Floyd’s death, but collective action and consequences will help make that happen.
“We’re not just trying to rebuild the infrastructure of our city, we’re trying to rebuild the character, the trust, the community, even the love in our city.”
Sam Woodward contact addressemail address. Terry Collins can be contacted at tcollins@gannett.com
