Minneapolis Police Department

The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesota, after the Saint Paul Police Department that formed in 1854. A short-lived Board of Police Commissioners existed from 1887 to 1890.

The department is organized into four bureaus all reporting to the Assistant Chief of Police, who in turn reports to the Chief. The city is divided into five precincts with 800 sworn officers and 300 civilian employees. As of May 29, 2020, the department's 3rd precinct station was destroyed. At the city's population peak, the MPD served over 521,000 people, and today serves over 430,000 people as of the last census estimate.

MPD answers about four hundred thousand calls a year and does fifty thousand proactive stops a year. In comparison, Hennepin Emergency Medical Services answers 60,000 calls a year. Also operating in the city are the University of Minnesota Police Department, Minneapolis Park Police Department, Metro Transit Police, and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office. The Metropolitan Airports Commission Police serves Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport in unincorporated Hennepin County.

After an incident in May 2020, MPD officer Derek Chauvin was charged with and later convicted for the murder of George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for approximately 9.5 minutes. The murder sparked worldwide protests against racism and police brutality, bringing considerable attention to the MPD. The MPD has explicitly refused offers for intervention training which could have prevented civilian loss of life. Bob Kroll, head of the MPD union, characterized Floyd as a "violent criminal" and called the protests a "terrorist movement". In June 2020, President Lisa Bender of the Minneapolis City Council stated that the city should dismantle the MPD and replace it with a "transformative new model of public safety". Plans to disband the department were announced days later, with support from a veto-proof majority on the City Council. However, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey was opposed to such action. It was soon acknowledged that the city charter prevented the City Council from enacting such plans, which would have to be approved either with joint support from the mayor or by amending the city charter in a public vote. The charter also prevents the MPD from being defunded.

A proposed city charter amendment was passed by the Minneapolis City Council, which, if approved by voters, would replace the MPD with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, with a provision that would allow but not require a division of "licensed peace officers". However, the Minneapolis City Charter Commission later cancelled plans to put the proposed city charter amendment on the November 2020 ballot, after an increase in crimes throughout the city. A similar measure which appeared on the November 2021 ballot was defeated.

On June 16, 2023, the United States Department of Justice released a report summarizing a comprehensive investigation into the MPD, finding that "the Minneapolis Police Department and the City of Minneapolis engage in a pattern or practice of conduct in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law," specifically with regard to the use of deadly force, racial discrimination, violations of free speech rights, and discrimination against people with behavioral health disabilities.