Police reform advocates pledged to intensify their efforts at the local level after the U.S. Justice Department said it would withdraw lawsuits against police departments where officers have killed unarmed Black people.

The Justice Department is working toward dropping reform agreements with police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, Ky., after killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in those cities drew national attention.

The Trump administration is dismissing investigations into several major US police departments, as well as consent decrees in Louisville and Minneapolis reached following the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor and police killing of George Floyd.

Harmeet K. Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s civil rights division, announced the decision days before the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.

Trump's Justice Department said it would abandon consent decree negotiations despite the benefits some say result from their implementation.

The Justice Department said it is ending investigations of six police agencies and canceling consent decrees proposed for Louisville and Minneapolis. Skyler Henry spoke to Minneapolis Chief Brian O'Hara earlier this week ahead of the expected change.