The Minneapolis City Council voted 12-0 in favor of the consent decree in a closed-door session after discussing it for nearly seven hours on Monday. The agreement comes more than four years after police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes, sparking protests in the Twin Cities and around the globe.

The Minneapolis Police Department will require its officers to “promote the sanctity of human life as the highest priority in their activities” and “carry out their law enforcement duties with professionalism and respect for the dignity of every person,” according to the 171-page agreement.

Race, gender, or ethnicity shall not be used “to influence any decision to use force, including the amount or type of force used,” according to the agreement.

“This agreement reflects what our community has asked for and what we know is necessary: real accountability and meaningful change,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement.

The agreed-upon consent decree outlines how the Minneapolis Police Department will reform its training, discipline, and policies to address systemic problems reported by the DOJ in 2023, which Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time were problems that “made what happened to George Floyd possible.”

The report found Minneapolis police used excessive and unjustified deadly force, discriminated against racial minorities routinely, violated reporters’ and protesters’ free speech rights, and used discriminatory practices against people with behavioral health disabilities.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said the department “swiftly got to the table” to negotiate with the city.

“It was important that we get it right. We owe that to people here in Minneapolis. This was not a race to the finish line,” she said.

“George Floyd’s death was not just a tragedy. It was a galvanizing force for the city and for the nation,” Clarke said. “All eyes remain on Minneapolis, and with this consent decree, we now have a road map for reform that will help this community heal while strengthening trust between law enforcement and the people they serve.”

Frey, who was mayor in 2020 at the time of Floyd’s murder and protests, said “change is afoot” in the city.

“It’s a good agreement, and at the same time, I want to be honest with every resident throughout our city: It is not a panacea,” he said. “There aren’t any shortcuts, and success is not guaranteed.”

During his first administration, President-elect Donald Trump was critical of consent decrees, viewing them as anti-police. Clarke said she was unsure of the enforcement of the consent decree under the incoming Trump administration.

​​“I can’t predict the future,” she said. “What I can tell you is that the findings we identified in Minneapolis are severe. These are real issues that impact people’s lives. The community wants reform. The city wants reform. The police department wants reform. And the Justice Department stands here today as a full partner in the effort of achieving reform and transformation for this community.”