Minneapolis activists vow to maintain pressure for police reform

Pledge follows Justice Department announcement that it will investigate city police for ‘systemic failures’ after George Floyd verdict.

Minneapolis, Minnesota, US – Community leaders in Minneapolis called for more accountability for police brutality and more direct action from demonstrators on Wednesday after the United States Justice Department (DOJ) announced an investigation into the city’s police department a day after a former officer was found guilty of killing George Floyd, a Black man. On boarded-up businesses across the city, images posted of Floyd, as well as Daunte Wright and Philando Castile, Black men also killed by police, are a reminder of the scale of the challenge. Wright was shot earlier this month, while Castile was killed in 2017. “We need a real investigation, not any consultations or public relations type of thing,” Michelle Gross, the head of Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) told Al Jazeera.