The Minnesota Department of Human Rights invited the family of Amir Locke, who was killed by Minneapolis police, to meet with them last summer as they negotiated a settlement agreement to reform the police department. The agreement was approved on Friday by the City Council and includes several measures aimed at preventing such incidents from happening in the future.
Under this new agreement, officers must complete a risk assessment before executing a warrant and may be subject to discipline for providing "knowingly inaccurate or incomplete information" in support of these warrants. Civil justice advocates have been questioning whether this goes far enough to ensure that bad cops are removed from their positions.
Marcia Howard, civil leader of an advocacy group, stated that she does not see anything thus far that says "This is a way in which we create a way to get rid of bad cops." Some precincts were left out of the agreement entirely; Levy Armstrong's precinct was one such example.
The 144-page document has raised many questions about its effectiveness and whether it will lead to real change within the Minneapolis Police Department. While some believe it is not enough, others are hopeful that this marks an important step forward in holding law enforcement accountable for their actions.
As Minneapolis continues grappling with issues surrounding police brutality and misconduct, only time will tell if this new reform agreement will bring much-needed change to the department.