To commemorate the death of George Floyd, the DOJ shut down police reform

Here's how the federal government honored the fifth anniversary of the tortured death of George Floyd: It stomped on his memory by gutting the very programs that could help police departments avoid such brutal and racially polarizing deaths.

- Mary Sanchez

The Department of Justice announced on May 21, 2025, that it would cancel consent decrees with multiple policing agencies across the nation. These are court-monitored plans whereby departments agree to work on specific steps to improve patterns and practices of discriminatory behavior based on evidence of police misconduct that far exceeds the actions of one officer.

Consent decrees attempt to rectify problems that are ingrained, like attitudes and policies.

One of the canceled programs was between the DOJ and the Minneapolis Police Department after the investigation that followed Floyd's death.

The other was with the Louisville Police Department, prompted by the death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed in 2020 during a drug raid where police broke her door down, looking for another target.

The government will also be halting many ongoing, deep-dive investigations, the sort of efforts that have helped untold numbers of law enforcement through increased training, funding, and building stronger relationships with the community.

In total, nearly two dozen cities have lost these crucial efforts of government help and oversight, managed through the DOJ's Civil Rights division.

Understandably, few, if any, police departments welcome consent decrees. No one likes the government looking under the hood, overseeing and advising.

Police unions, in particular, have praised the move by Trump's DOJ to reign in the investigations.