Police reform activists pledge to carry on after Trump drops oversight
Source: Reuters
May 22, 2025 6:15 AM EDT Updated 9 hours ago
May 22 (Reuters) - Police reform advocates pledged to intensify their efforts at the local level after the U.S. Justice Department said it would withdraw lawsuits against police departments where officers have killed unarmed Black people.
The administration of President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced it would dismiss lawsuits against police departments in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Louisville, Kentucky, cities where the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020 led to worldwide protests.
Sunday is the fifth anniversary of the murder of Floyd by an officer who knelt on his neck for nine minutes. Taylor was shot dead in her home by officers executing a search warrant that was granted based on a falsified affidavit. The administration of former President Joe Biden sued the departments in Minneapolis and Louisville and opened investigations of others in Arizona, New Jersey, Tennessee, New York, Oklahoma and Louisiana - probes that were shut down by Trump.
At least one expert said failure to fill the oversight void left by the federal government could unleash more dangerous behavior by police. But Trump's Justice Department called Biden's actions a "failed experiment" that stripped control from local officials and handed it to unelected bureaucrats. It expressed confidence the vast majority of police would protect constitutional rights and said it would step in on the rare instance when police break the law.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/police-reform-activists-pledge-carry-after-trump-drops-oversight-2025-05-22/
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