U.S. to launch federal probe into Minneapolis Police a day after George Floyd case verdict

Following the verdict in George Floyd’s death, as per a source, it is expected by the Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement of the Justice Department opened a probe to look whether the police department engages in a pattern of excessive force.

The probe comes in after the national outrage over the death of Floyd, whose death led to months of mass protest against the police in the U.S.

Another investigation is already under process by the Justice Department to check if the police officer involved in Floyd’s death had violated his civil rights. As per an official, it is much of a “pattern or practice” and the entire department will be entering into a probe which may result to major changes to policing there. An upcoming announcement is expected for Wednesday morning.

The investigation will be following up on the actions taken by the police department and whether they engage in discriminatory practices and will examine the department’s handling of misconduct. It is yet unknown how far back the investigation will go.

In President Biden’s speech on Tuesday, he had promised that his administration would rest following the jury’s verdict and much more was needed to be done.

The Justice Department had previously considered opening a probe immediately after the death of George Floyd, Attorney General Bill Barr was reluctant to do so, as he feared it would create more divisions in the law enforcement.