The Justice Department is considering conducting a broader federal investigation into whether the Minneapolis Police Department has been involved in a pattern of unconstitutional conduct and not only specifically looking into the killing of George Floyd, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Such a probe would mark a change in the department’s approach to such investigations, which under President Donald Trump has significantly cut back on such inquiries, focusing instead on providing police departments funds and resources for combatting violent crime.
This came after the Obama administration launched some two dozen such investigations as part of its efforts to reform troubled police agencies, probes that ended in court-approved deals giving the Justice Department oversight of the local agency.
Republicans have generally criticized such broad probes, saying they can be costly, harm police morale and lead to increases in crime.
Such federal investigations are very extensive and usually take years only after which a public report is issued.
A Justice Department spokesman appeared to indicate that such opposition still exists in the Trump administration by referring to remarks Attorney General William Barr made to CBS’s “Face The Nation” last month in which he said, “Reacting to [the George Floyd] incident by immediately putting the department under investigation doesn’t necessarily result in improving the situation.”
When Justice Department officials sent a letter to Senate Democrats last week stating that a broad probe remains an option, Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar was livid that such a probe was not seen as clearly needed, saying on the Senate floor that “What facts would warrant an investigation if not these?”
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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