Fred de Sam Lazaro:
Opinions about this square, much like the opinions about Minneapolis’ progress since 2020, are mixed.
At first, there were pledges to defund the police, billions of dollars for racial justice work, including from Minneapolis-based Target, convictions of the officers involved in Floyd’s death, state and federal consent degrees to reform the Minneapolis Police Department.
But since then, the winds have shifted. Crime spiked in Minneapolis. More than a third of the city’s officers left the force. Storefronts remain empty. Property values have dropped. Businesses, including Target, ended their DEI efforts, and today’s announcement that the Justice Department is moving to end its consent decree with Minneapolis is only the latest in several moves across the country.
Florida passed a law restricting police civilian review boards. Louisiana made it harder to sue officers. Cities like Portland and Los Angeles restored police funding that was cut after Floyd was killed. And Washington, D.C., increased punishment for a range of crimes.
