According to the Associated Press, a new report by risk management firm Hillard Heintze stated that Minneapolis police officers and other agencies experienced a breakdown in communication that led to first responders receiving a lack of guidance in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.
The 86-page report, which the firm released on Tuesday, indicated that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey “failed to implement the city’s emergency protocols in response to the unrest that followed Floyd’s death at the hands of police in May 2020,” The Washington Post reports. Minneapolis currently has an emergency operations plan under Chapter 12 of the Minnesota State Plan. According to the Associated Press, the Heintze report describes the city’s plan as “well written, comprehensive and consistent with nationally recognized practices,” but the mayor failed to ensure it was “properly implemented.”
“Even though the level of protest and violence was unprecedented, better planning, organization, communication and adherence to command-and-control principles by the MPD [Minneapolis Police Department] and city officials would have led to a better response,” the report stated, according to the Star Tribune.
The outlet also reported that Frey asked Minneapolis city staff to create a new plan that addresses the report’s recommendations. Those recommendations include improvements in communication between city employees as well as revamped police training on “crowd control tactics and improving employees’ wellness programs,” according to the Tribune.
“Trainings are underway, new structures are being put in place,” Frey said in a statement on Tuesday, the Tribune reports. “We are in routine contact with multi-jurisdictional partners to enhance communications and operational preparedness.”
According to The Associated Press, after Floyd’s death, Minneapolis police started using “rubber bullets and ‘chemical irritants’ on demonstrators.” Report researchers found that issues in the way law enforcement approached controlling crowds and protesters were due to “poor communication and a frustration with the competency of command staff,” the Associated Press reports.
The report includes interviews with 90 government employees and community members. Additionally, researchers reviewed 30 hours of body camera video and around 2,400 documents.
