Will state-mandated police reform for Minneapolis make a difference after federal consent decree was quashed?

It’s no coincidence that the Trump administration’s Department of Justice moved to dismiss a federal consent decree settlement that would have legally mandated police reform in Minneapolis in the week leading to the five-year mark of George Floyd’s murder.

It’s also no coincidence that the Minnesota Department of Human Rights has a settlement agreement of its own with the city.

Minneapolis is “relatively unique” in its formation around consent decree settlements because of timing, said University of Minnesota sociology professor Michelle Phelps. Floyd’s murder under the knee of a police officer happened during the “Trump administration 1.0” (as Phelps calls it). Trump has long opposed consent decrees, calling them a “war on police.”

Fast-forward five years to the Trump administration 2.