- Minneapolis cops fist-bumped each other and said "gotcha" after shooting protesters with rubber bullets.
- The Minnesota Department of Human Rights report found evidence of policing that emphasizes aggression.
- In another case, an officer called a man a "fuckin' piece of shit" while another cop kicked him in the face.
Minneapolis police officers fist-bumped each other and said "gotcha" after shooting rubber bullets at demonstrators protesting the murder of George Floyd in 2020, body camera footage from 2020 showed, according to a shocking years-long human rights investigation.
A new report commissioned by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights found evidence of policing that emphasizes aggression that results in unnecessary escalation and excessive force by the Minneapolis Police Department.
In one case, according to the report, MPD officers were captured on body camera footage congratulating each other during the 2020 protests. The officers were caught fist-bumping each other and saying "gotcha" after shooting protestors with 40 mm rubber bullets.
The report said many of the protesters shown in the footage were Black and had their "hands raised in the air while yelling that they were unarmed."
An analysis of the policing tactics in the department found that MPD officers failed to de-escalate the situation in 56.8% of incidents. They improperly escalate the situation 32.7% of the time.
Minneapolis and its police department haven't responded to Insider's request for comment.
In another instance in 2020, officers called a Black man who was complying with their orders a "fuckin' piece of shit" while another officer kicked him in the face.
A third incident reviewed on body camera footage showed a MPD officer pulling on a Black man's dreadlocks and putting his body weight on the man's head and neck, pinning him to the ground after a bystander had mocked the officer.
The incidents also proved that in 76.5% of cases where an MPD officer was using excessive force, another officer failed to properly intervene and de-esclate the situation.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights began its investigation into the MPD just one week after George Floyd was killed by MPD Officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020.