In a staggering report last month, the Department of Justice documented pervasive abuse, illegal use of force, racial bias and systemic dysfunction in the Minneapolis Police Department. City police officers engaged in brutality or made racist comments, even as a department investigator rode along in a patrol car. Complaints about police abuse were often slow-walked or dismissed without investigation.
Caveat: there wasn’t actually anyone in prison on possession at the time. Which isn’t to say it didn’t send a message to supporters of the drug war.