Tag: Chief Arradondo

Police chief: George Floyd’s death was a ‘murder,’ not about lack of training

Two officers were trained on preventing suffocation.

Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao — two of the officers involved in killing George Floyd May 25 — both took department training on preventing suffocation in people being restrained face down, the Minneapolis Police Department confirmed.

In one of his most forceful comments yet on Floyd’s killing, Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo issued a statement Monday night, saying, “Chauvin knew what he was doing.”

“Mr. George Floyd’s tragic death was not due to a lack of training — the training was there,” he said. “This was murder — it wasn’t a lack of training. This is why I took swift action regarding the involved officers’ employment with MPD,” Arradondo said. Continue reading.

In first efforts at reform, city of Minneapolis to withdraw from negotiations with police union

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo revealed the first of a series of department reforms.

The city of Minneapolis is withdrawing from labor negotiations with the powerful police union, the latest step by officials to restore faith in the beleaguered department as demands for law enforcement accountability and reform sweep the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

Police Chief Medaria Arradondo revealed the move before talks were scheduled to resume after a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s among the first steps he pledged to take to restore community trust, along with renewing an initiative to identify potentially problem officers in time to intervene.

“I need to, as chief, step away from the table with the Minneapolis Police Federation and really take a deep dive in terms of how we can do something that has historically been something that is in the way of progress, that I’ve been hearing from many in our city,” Arradondo said. “It’s time that we have to evolve.” Continue reading.