The Department of Justice has confirmed that the Trump administration has officially shut down a nationwide database designed to track police officers accused of misconduct and abuse of power. The database was originally created in response to the 2020 death of George Floyd, an incident that sparked international protests against police brutality and systemic racism.

Floyd died after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes. The event was captured on video and led to widespread outrage, with demands for police reform sweeping across the country. Chauvin was later convicted of murder and sentenced to 22 years in prison. In the wake of this tragedy, lawmakers and civil rights advocates pushed for increased accountability within law enforcement, leading to the development of the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database.

The idea for the database was initially proposed by the Trump administration as part of an effort to address concerns over police misconduct. However, it wasn’t fully implemented until 2022, when President Biden signed an executive order formally establishing the system. The database served as a national registry, tracking officers with records of excessive force, misconduct complaints, and civil rights violations. Its primary purpose was to prevent corrupt officers from quietly transferring to new departments without accountability, a practice known as “wandering officers.”