Booker Statement on DOJ Investigation Into Minneapolis Police Department

Statement

"Three years ago, the brutality of George Floyd's murder sparked a global movement to reform policing as we know it and prompted the Biden administration's Justice Department to begin an urgently needed investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department's practices. Today's announcement speaks to what we all knew after watching that video: that the department engaged in the systemic use of excessive force and discriminatory behavior that disproportionately impacted Black residents.

We know that without proper accountability and transparency mechanisms in place, we will continue to see these horrific tragedies occur. I have spent the last three years attempting to find a path forward for legislation to improve public safety by increasing police accountability, transparency, and professionalism and fulfill our nation's ideals of liberty and justice for all. I've been frustrated by the resistance from too many in Congress to advance changes that are supported by families, civil rights leaders, local mayors, activists, law enforcement leaders and union members, and many more. But I won't stop working until we enact changes at the federal level that will make our nation safer, stronger, and more just -- and I hope that as attention again turns to what happened to George Floyd, my colleagues will once again feel the urgency to bring forth that change.

This report is a stark reminder to all of us about what is at stake if we fail to act. We have a moral responsibility to ensure that no one ever again dies the way George Floyd did. Only then can we restore faith in law enforcement and build a system of public safety that keeps every person safe."

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