What has changed 5 years after George Floyd's death? Some say nothing

It was May 25, 2020, when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on George Floyd's neck and killed him.

So what has changed in terms of how police interact with people in poor communities, and how Black officers are treated within their departments?

"Here we are five years later and nothing's changed," said Cheryl Dorsey, who spent 20 years patrolling the streets with the LAPD.

She's proud of her police past, but she's also a critic.

"It's the culture. It's the way the police departments conduct business. It's institutionalized racism from the top down," said Dorsey.

A 2022 report from UCLA found what it called, "considerable race-based intergroup tensions," and that, "Black officers feel silenced and excluded."

"So it tells me that we have a lot of work to do for all of our employees within the organization to be better at listening," LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell told Eyewitness News.

McDonnell tells us he wants to hear from the critics so he can make the department better for both the men in women in blue, and for those living on the streets they patrol. But some want more from him, like civil rights attorney Connie Rice.

"Chief Jim McDonnell is trying to take a look at these issues, but what I fear is that they're not asking the right questions," said Rice. "Not strategic enough, not deep enough, not really touching the third rails of, for example, adverse, hostile work environment for black officers."

Rice also believes the LAPD isn't doing enough community policing - which is when officers build relationships with those in the crime hot zones.

And she thinks that is one reason why so far this fiscal year accord to the L.A. Controller's Office, the city has had to dish out more than $52 million in LAPD use of force and breach of civil rights lawsuits.

The chief says he's all for community policing, but he's leading a force that's short hundreds of officers.

"Where we're so short staffed and the officer to population ratio is so lean," said McDonnell. "That's a frustration that we have all the time."

Frustrations seem to be all around five years after one man's death sparked a movement that many say materialized into nothing.

"I wish in my lifetime I could see a difference," said Dorsey. "I wish I had something hopeful that I could share with others about finally, finally, you know, George Floyd did make a difference, but we know that George Floyd didn't make a difference."

Five years ago we heard often the phrase "defund the police."

But the LAPD has been far from defunded. Five years ago, its budget was around $1.73 billion. Today it's $1.92 billion.

But if you adjust this for inflation, today's LAPD budget is actually smaller by about $158 million.