Issued pursuant to City Charter, Section 7.1
I, Jacob Frey, Mayor of the City of Minneapolis, subject to the executive and administrative authority granted to me pursuant to Minneapolis City Charter, do hereby issue the following Executive Order:
Implementing the Reforms of the Proposed Consent Decree Negotiated with the Federal Government, Regardless of Lack of Federal Support
WHEREAS, on June 15, 2023, during the Biden Administration, the United States and the City of Minneapolis (the "City") entered into an Agreement in Principle committing to negotiate reforms "regarding sustainable, constitutional, and effective public safety and emergency response services"; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to this Agreement in Principle, the City and the United States entered Into arms-length, good faith negotiations over an approximately five-month period; and
WHEREAS, the negotiation team for the United States included experienced Department of Justice attorneys, who collectively have decades of experience in assisting in the implementation of reforms of state and local law enforcement agencies; similarly, the City was represented by experienced counsel and representatives who are intimately familiar with the Minneapolis Police Department's ("MPD") policing practices and the City's public safety system, as well as the City's structure and resources; and
WHEREAS, the parties' good-faith negotiations resulted in a Proposed Consent Decree as a product of both the United States' and the City's expertise, as well as being informed by feedback gathered by the Department of Justice from the Minneapolis community and MPD officers; and
WHEREAS, the United States and the City of Minneapolis filed their Proposed Consent Decree with the federal court on January 6, 2025, along with a joint motion for court approval, in which both the United States and the City represented to the court that the Proposed Consent Decree was in the public interest; and
WHEREAS, on May 27, 2025, by request of the new Administration of the United States, and over the City's objection, the federal court denied approval of the Proposed Consent Decree and dismissed the action with prejudice; and
WHEREAS, regardless of the about-face of the federal government, the City believes in the value of the reforms negotiated in the Proposed Consent Decree, which include reforms that not only meet but exceed constitutional policing requirements and will assist the City in its continuing efforts to provide sustainable, effective public safety and emergency response services; and
WHEREAS, the City affirms that constitutional and effective policing are interdependent and rely on a strong partnership between the City's community safety system and the community it serves; and
WHEREAS, the reforms in the Proposed Consent Decree are calibrated to support and advance the work the City has undertaken, and will continue to undertake, to improve public safety, officer well-being, and community trust; and
WHEREAS, the City's work to implement the reforms in the Settlement Agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights is well underway, and implementing the additional reforms in the Proposed Consent Decree will assist the City in creating a world-class public safety system; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article 7 of the Minneapolis City Charter, the Mayor is the City's chief executive officer with the exclusive authority to direct the City's Administration; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article 7 of the Minneapolis City Charter, the Mayor "has complete power over the establishment, maintenance, and command of the police department" and "may make all rules and regulations and may promulgate and enforce general and special orders necessary to operating the police department"; and
WHEREAS, as chief executive and administrative officer of the City, the Mayor is responsible for the coordinated and integrated direction, supervision, and control of all executive offices, administrative departments, and divisions, boards, commissions, and other agencies that constitute the City's Administration; and
WHEREAS, the Mayor may issue executive orders establishing policies and procedures to direct and supervise the internal operation of the City's Administration and any department thereunder; and
WHEREAS, the reforms in the Proposed Consent Decree are fundamentally policies and procedures to direct the operations of departments of the City's Administration, including but not limited to, training, oversight, and accountability systems, as well as conduct standards for the direction and supervision of Administration employees, and it is within the authority of the Mayor to direct affected employees and departments to follow the reforms set forth in the Proposed Consent Decree, regardless of the dismissal of the matter in federal court; and
WHEREAS, by adopting this direction by executive order, such direction will continue unless and until it is expressly revoked by a future Mayor.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jacob Frey, Mayor of the City of Minneapolis, hereby adopt the following Executive Order:
- Within 90 days of the issuance of this Executive Order, the City Attorney's Office shall identify all reforms, including such reforms concerning Community Engagement, Use of Force, Fair and Impartial Policing, First Amendment, People with Behavioral Health Disabilities, Interactions with Youth, Misconduct and Accountability, Supervision, Body Worn Cameras, Training, Secondary Employment, Recruitment and Hiring, Officer and Employee Assistance and Support and Data Management, contained in the January 6, 2025 Proposed Consent Decree that are not duplicative of or in conflict with the July 13, 2023 Settlement Agreement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (collectively, "Consent Decree Reforms").
- Within 90 days of the issuance of this Executive Order, the City Attorney's Office shall prepare documentation containing the Consent Decree Reforms for the City Administration to use in its work to implement the Consent Decree Reforms.
- Effective immediately, all relevant offices, departments, divisions, boards, commissions, and employees of the City Administration shall make good faith efforts to cooperate with, and participate in, the work of implementing the Consent Decree Reforms into policy, procedure, practice, training, planning, evaluation, and accountability measures as set forth in the Consent Decree Reforms; it is understood that it will take several years to fully implement the Consent Decree Reforms.
- Effective immediately, the failure of any City Administration leader or employee to make good faith efforts to cooperate with, and participate in, the work of implementing the Consent Decree Reforms into policy, procedure, practice, training, planning, evaluation, and accountability measures as set forth in the Consent Decree Reforms when asked by a supervisor or manager within their chain of command or by a member of the Cabinet, or when part of their job responsibilities, may subject those leaders or employees to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge.
- Within 30 days of the issuance of this Executive Order, the City Attorney's Office shall advise me on steps that would need to be taken to enable Effective Law Enforcement for ALL ("ELEFA") to monitor the work of implementing the Consent Decree Reforms.
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This Executive Order does not constitute an admission by the City of Minneapolis or any of its officers, employees, or agents for the purposes of liability or otherwise, is not intended to and does not create any claims or causes of action, and no person, group of persons, or entity is or is intended to be a third-party beneficiary for the purposes of any civil, criminal, or administrative action, nor may any person, group of persons, or entity assert any claim or right as a beneficiary or protected class under this Executive Order.
This Executive Order shall become effective upon filing with the Office of City Clerk, as noted below, and shall continue in force until further notice or until it is amended, superseded, or rescinded.
June 10, 2025