- Minneapolis police trainers used racist tropes in training scenarios, a new report uncovered.
- Trainers "relied on racist tropes to impersonate Black community members as part of scenario-based training," the report said.
- It also found that trainers furthered race-based policing practices and taught them to the rookie officers.
Minneapolis Police Department trainers used racially biased tropes to impersonate Black people during training scenarios, a new report from the Minnesota Department of Human Rights found.
"Observations from MPD's recent Academy training sessions in 2021 provided additional evidence of MPD's deficient training," the agency said in the report. "Some trainers relied on racist tropes to impersonate Black community members as part of scenario-based training and other trainers used racist or sexist tropes."
The report, released on Wednesday, also said that the agency's investigation found training in the MPD furthered race-based policing and encouraged rookie officers to use these practices in the field.
One example from 2020 investigated by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights showed body camera footage of a field training officer and trainee completing a search of an intoxicated Black woman who said she did not have any weapons on her.
Two hours later, the same pair stopped an intoxicated white man who confessed to having a knife with him. Instead of performing a search, the trainer told the trainee not to complete one because "I just didn't want you to waste your time."
Data from the report showed that 63% of all use of force incidents that MPD officers recorded were against Black individuals, though Black people make up about 19% of the Minneapolis population.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights also found that training overall is insufficient, with one lieutenant explaining he believes the poor and inconsistent training for supervisors is the root of most problems in the department.
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights began its investigation into the police department on June 1, 2020 — a week after George Floyd was killed by former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020.