National and Local Urban League Leaders Respond to Report on Minneapolis Police

NEW YORK and MINNEAPOLIS (June 17, 2023) -- National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial and Urban League of the Twin Cities Interim President and CEO Marquita Stephens issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Justice Department's scathing report on the Minneapolis Police Department:

"The Justice Department‘s report on the racism, violent abuse, and habitual misconduct that pervades the Minneapolis Police Department is not a revelation. People of color across the country, in communities large and small, have borne this brutality for generations.

"Furthermore, the investigation uncovered violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and  'reasonable cause to believe that MPD discriminated against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to calls.'

"What the report does represent is a turning point in what the American people expect of those who are sworn to protect and serve. It represents a line in the sand that has long existed but rarely been respected. It is the outcry of the people saying, ‘no more.’

"The urgency for comprehensive legislation that reflects this outcry cannot be ignored.     Failure to enact the reforms outlined in the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is an endorsement of the brutality and lawlessness outlined in the report. Accountability for racial misconduct and illegal violence among law enforcement, and accountability for the lawmakers who endorse it, is long overdue."