Minneapolis cops are so offensive that prosecutors have trouble using their body camera footage in court, investigation finds
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- Minneapolis police officers are being caught on body camera footage saying offensive things to suspects and bystanders.
- An investigation by Minnesota's Department of Human Rights found the cop's conduct makes it difficult for prosecutors to use body camera footage in court.
- The explosive report also detailed a consistent use of racial slurs and selective enforcement by the police.
Prosecutors struggle to use the body camera footage of Minneapolis police officers in court because cops say such offensive things in the videos, an explosive new investigation has revealed.
According to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which published the results of a sweeping civil rights probe into the Minneapolis Police Department on Wednesday, officers often say disrespectful and offensive things to criminal suspects, bystanders, and witnesses.
Prosecutors in Minneapolis and Hennepin County said this makes it difficult to use body camera footage in court, according to the report, adding that MPD officers are "much less professional and respectful" than those in neighboring departments.
"When MPD officers scream obscenities at community members, it makes it challenging for prosecutors to do their job and therefore undermines the criminal justice system," the report said.
The two-year investigation was launched shortly after a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd — a Black man — and relies on over 10 years of data on arrests, police stops and searches, trainings, policies, and more.
It concluded that Minneapolis Police Department's trainings "reinforce a culture that exacerbates a pattern of race-based policing," based on a review of training observations and materials, and witness testimony.
Police "consistently" use racist and misogynist language, selectively enforce the law based on suspects' race, and violate human rights law, the report also revealed.
The city of Minneapolis and its police department have not responded to Insider's requests for comment.