In Minneapolis, the video of Tyre Nichols’s fatal beating at the hands of Memphis police officers triggered unwelcome flashbacks. Just two and a half years ago, the city erupted with riots after video emerged of George Floyd’s murder. In the aftermath, hopes that Minneapolis’s troubled police department might be reformed fell apart as politics, polarization and mistrust eroded support for even modest improvements. For many in this scarred city, there’s a feeling that nothing has changed.
As Memphis begins to grapple with the aftermath of its own tragedy, mistakes in Minneapolis can serve as a cautionary tale. The chance to fix a broken, violent system is rare. In order to use that opportunity effectively, advocates for reform need to embrace specific, actionable proposals, while lawmakers and other civic leaders avoid overpromising. If either side falters, mistrust and a missed opportunity are what’s left behind.
The Minneapolis Police Department has had well-documented problems with its officers, including rampant racial discrimination, since the early 20th century. Despite these well-documented problems, at the time of Floyd’s murder neither the Minneapolis city council nor the mayor had a serious, specific plan to reform the department. So, during the angry summer of 2020, activists flooded the public square with calls to defund the police — and councilmembers pledged to fulfill that goal, despite most harboring hopes for a more nuanced approach. For the next 18 months the debate over “defund” overwhelmed any nuances, and led natural allies of police reform to back away for fear of being associated with a culture-war slogan.
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