MINNEAPOLIS — On Friday morning, John Pope answered his phone while boarding a flight to Atlanta. The U.S. Department of Justice had just released the results of a scathing federal investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department, including 28 recommendations for institutional change.
The report was deeply personal for the 20-year-old Minneapolis man. He received a $7.5 million settlement from the city this year stemming from a 2017 instance of excessive force involving Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, when Pope was 14. But even though Chauvin now sits behind bars for George Floyd's murder, and even though the report details a history of Minneapolis police misconduct while paving a path forward, Pope remained skeptical about any lasting change.
"You can talk about change all you want — it's not going to change if they don't put forth the effort," Pope said. "It has to be a culture of change, like any business. If they're not willing to change the culture, then nothing will change."
