On the heels of the Department of Justice announcing that it will no longer pursue a consent decree with the Minneapolis Police Department, more questionable findings are coming to light in another major city in America.
Dr. Major Travis Yates is a retired police major and author. He co-authored a report with Dr. JC Chaix that spells out some of the questionable investigative practices into the Phoenix Police Department by the Biden-era Department of Justice (DOJ).
On Liz Collin Reports, Dr. Yates provided an explanation of the history and importance of DOJ consent decrees and why they should matter to Americans.
“The 1994 crime bill granted the Attorney General of the United States the authority to investigate local law enforcement for civil rights violations … since that time … there’s been about 41 agencies that have gone under a federal consent decree.”
Dr. Yates continued, “So it should matter to citizens for a couple of reasons. First off, every citizen in America should expect their law enforcement agency to not violate their rights, to be a professional agency.”
He also explained that citizens should question whether the “current mechanism to do that is actually working.”
In seeking answers to that question in response to a DOJ investigative report in Phoenix, Yates found a 97% rate of false reporting in the DOJ summary—97% of the descriptions of incidents in the DOJ report were found to be factually and/or contextually inaccurate, Yates explained.
Dr. Yates said, “I think we would agree that agencies should be held accountable for violating the rights of citizens. But after 30 years of investigations, it’s pretty apparent that the DOJ has mishandled this at a level that really cannot be disputed.”
Dr. Yates also expressed concerns about oversight of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD).
Earlier in the week the city announced two civilians will head the Internal Affairs Bureau. A press release states “these historic appointments mark the first time civilians have held such high-ranking roles within MPD” and that “these new leaders will play a critical role in guiding our progress.”
Dr. Yates also questioned MPD leadership.
“Your chief is the highest-paid chief in the land, I’m not sure why he can’t pull that off and why he feels like hiring two civilians to do that will help.”
He also pointed out how the hiring of civilians sounds a lot like a DOJ consent decree and federal oversight—even though the consent decree for Minneapolis has been rescinded by the DOJ.
Repeating the problems of DOJ consent decrees?
With regard to the hiring, Yates explained, “This almost sounds like an extension of what the Department of Justice has been doing. The consent decree monitors to run agencies are civilians. Investigators that investigate agencies are civilians. And what we found in Phoenix when we looked underneath the hood, they don’t know a whole lot about police activity, police tactics, and case law. You don’t have to hire all these additional people. You don’t have to have civilians come in and all these experts. A police chief at a major city like Minneapolis, trust me, he knows what best practices are. And so it’s very odd to me that they’re imposing all these things.”
“Chief O’Hara at Minneapolis, he said at one point publicly that your agency deserved a consent decree. What the community deserves is a professional police department. They deserve real accountability. They don’t deserve this disaster called a consent decree.”
Dr. Yates also pointed out how trust and truthfulness may pose problems for the MPD: “He [Chief O’Hara] has also said at the same time that he trusts Assistant Chief Blackwell to bring these changes to Minneapolis. I was, like many people, disturbed that she filed a defamation lawsuit against Alpha News and even yourself. We talk a lot in this country about threats to democracy. Well, the First Amendment is a very important aspect of democracy.”
Liz Collin
Liz Collin is a multi-Emmy-Award-winning investigative reporter, news anchor, and producer who cares about Minnesota. She is the producer of The Fall of Minneapolis and Minnesota v We the People documentary films, and author of the Amazon best-selling book, They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and The Death of George Floyd. Her work has prompted important state laws. Yet perhaps most of all, Liz has been giving a voice to the truth—and helping others tell their stories—for more than 20 years.
