Minnesota’s Republican and Democratic lawmakers reached a deal on a public safety bill highlighted by measures to hold police officers accountable.
Saturday's compromise, which put an end to months of negotiations, comes after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the killing of George Floyd in May 2020.
In the public safety bill were several policing provisions that Minnesota House Democrats hope will build on legislation approved last year following Floyd’s death, the Associated Press reported.
The bill's draft includes developing a police misconduct database to rid the streets of officers with a history of malpractice and regulating the use of no-knock warrants.
A task force for black women who are missing and murdered and an office of missing and murdered indigenous relatives would also be implemented under the bill's police provisions.
Melissa Hortman, Speaker of the Democratic-controlled state House, said of the agreement:
It doesn’t include some of the important police reform and accountability measures pushed by the House, but it is a step forward in delivering true public safety and justice for all Minnesotans despite divided government.
Democrats lobbied for limits on police stops for minor traffic violations such as driving with an expired tag, which resulted in the death of Daunte Wright at the hands of police in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota earlier this year. This proposed provision was not included in the bill.
Republicans, who are the majority in the Senate, were opposed to several Democratic proposals, deeming the policies as “anti-police.”
The agreement includes a GOP-backed provision that would allocate $2 million for violent crime enforcement teams to combat violent protests, which took the country by storm in the aftermath of Floyd's death.
Senate Republican Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said that he is “confident we will finish the bill and keep Minnesotans safe.”
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