Tag: George Floyd

Minneapolis reaches record $27 million settlement with George Floyd’s family

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The Minneapolis City Council on Friday approved a $27 million settlement with the family of George Floyd, with $500,000 to be set aside for funding in his former community.

Why it matters: Ben Crump, the attorney for the Floyd family, called it the largest pretrial civil rights settlement ever and said in a statement that it “sends a powerful message that Black lives do matter and police brutality against people of color must end.”

The big picture: Floyd’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis in July, accusing the officers charged in connection with his killing of “unjustified, excessive, and illegal” use of force. Continue reading.

POCI Caucus Statement on Beginning of Chauvin Trial

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SAINT PAUL – Today marks the beginning of the trial of Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd. This process will be strenuous and traumatic for many throughout the state, especially for BIPOC communities and those who have fought for justice over the last year. The People of Color and Indigenous (POCI) Caucus released the following statement to remember the life of George Floyd and highlight the urgent need for continued public safety reform:

“It is difficult to comprehend the full scale of consequences that stem from the fateful day of May 25, 2020. For many of us, it marked a turning point in our lives, and how we view public safety. The trauma of that day and the sleepless nights that followed will stay with us for the rest of our lives, but the hope is that we can honor this moment by enacting change that will last for generations. 

There are some things we know for sure. We know that a man’s life was taken before his time, before our eyes. We all bore witness to the final minutes of a human life that was snuffed out with a terrible cruelty that was all too casual in its nature. We know that our society has not changed enough, that this terrible death can and will occur again if we do not act now to transform how we approach public safety so that we are all working together to keep one another safe.

The POCI caucus has worked tirelessly to make positive change, and while we have been successful on many fronts, systemic changes that will allow for true reforms have yet to reach a bipartisan consensus. We will continue to fight for justice for our black, brown, and Indigenous communities, and we hope that this trial is the beginning of justice for George Floyd.”

The People of Color & Indigenous (POCI) Caucus includes Reps. Esther Agbaje (59B), Jamie Becker-Finn (42B), Cedrick Frazier (45A), Aisha Gomez (62B), Hodan Hassan (Vice- Chair 62A), Kaohly Her (64A), Athena Hollins (66B), Fue Lee (59A), Carlos Mariani (65B), Rena Moran (65A), Mohamud Noor (60B), Ruth Richardson (52B), John Thompson (67A), Samantha Vang (Chair, 40B), Jay Xiong (67B), Tou Xiong (53B), and Senators Bobby Joe Champion (59), Omar Fateh (62), Melisa Franzen (49), Foung Hawj (67), Mary Kunesh (41), Patricia Torres Ray (Chair, 63)

Video: Weeks before pinning George Floyd, three of the same officers roughly detained the wrong man

The video from May 3, 2020, bears striking similarities to footage showing three of the same officers — Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng — aggressively detaining Floyd. 

Three weeks before he planted his knee on George Floyd’s neck, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin responded to a report of a woman being held hostage by armed men in a South Side apartment.

Along with officers Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Luis Realivasquez, Chauvin marched into the building as a Black man named Adrian Drakeford walked out. Drake­ford was carrying an object the officers later said they thought to be a knife. Without a word, they tackled him to the ground outside the apartment building.

His brother Lee Drakeford started recording with his cellphone as he and Adrian’s girlfriend, Kamaria Layton, pleaded that the officers were making a mistake. Continue reading.

Court records, FBI contradict Trump’s claims of organized ‘antifa-led’ riots in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death

Court documents show wide variety of motives, little, if any, cohesion. 

In the months since riots erupted in Minneapolis this summer, state and federal court documents have told a story that largely contradicts the widely disseminated narratives from Republican and Democratic politicians of what happened in that chaotic week.

President Donald Trump blamed the violence in Minneapolis on radical leftists, saying “antifa” led the riots. Gov. Tim Walz warned that Minneapolis and St. Paul were “under assault” by an “organized attempt to destabilize civil society.” Other public officials said waves of out-of-state agitators descended on the Twin Cities and caused the bulk of the violence.

But documents in dozens of state and federal criminal charges, reviewed by the Star Tribune, present a much more complicated narrative of splintered and disorganized crowds with no single goal or affiliation, and in some cases contradictory motives, that vastly outnumbered police and took advantage of a lawless scene. Continue reading.

Texas member of Boogaloo Bois charged with opening fire on Minneapolis police precinct during protests over George Floyd

Feds say Texas adherent of far-right group fired on precinct building, conspired with cop killer to ignite civil war. 

In the wake of protests following the May 25 killing of George Floyd, a member of the Boogaloo Bois opened fire on the Minneapolis Police Third Precinct with an AK-47-style gun and screamed “Justice for Floyd” as he ran away, according to a federal complaint made public Friday.

A sworn affidavit by the FBI underlying the complaint reveals new details about a far-right anti-government group’s coordinated role in the violence that roiled through civil unrest over Floyd’s death while in police custody.

Ivan Harrison Hunter, a 26-year-old from Boerne, Texas, is charged with one count of interstate travel to incite a riot for his alleged role in ramping up violence during the protests in Minneapolis on May 27 and 28. According to charges, Hunter, wearing a skull mask and tactical gear, shot 13 rounds at the south Minneapolis police headquarters while people were inside. He also looted and helped set the building ablaze, according to the complaint, which was filed Monday under seal. Continue reading.

Derek Chauvin posts $1 million bond a

Conditions on the release of cop in Floyd case require him to stay in Minnesota. 

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd on Memorial Day, posted bail on a $1 million bond Wednesday and was released from the state prison where he was being held pending trial.

In response, Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday afternoon that he was activating the Minnesota National Guard and mobilizing 100 state troopers and 75 conservation officers to help local law enforcement.

“Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of Minnesotans, we have asked the Minnesota National Guard to prepare to assist in keeping the peace,” Walz said in a statement. Continue reading.

Police Veteran Charged in George Floyd Killing Had Used Neck Restraints Before

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Derek Chauvin, the officer who is charged with second-degree murder in Mr. Floyd’s death, is expected to go to trial next year.

MINNEAPOLIS — The former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder after pressing his knee into the neck of George Floyd for more than eight minutes had used neck and upper body restraints during at least seven previous arrests, prosecutors said in court documents filed this week.

In four of the earlier arrests over the last six years, prosecutors say that the former officer, Derek Chauvin, used those restraint techniques — which have been the subject of much debate in recent months — “beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances.”

Neck restraints were banned this summer in police departments in Minneapolis and other cities following the death in May of Mr. Floyd, a Black man who repeatedly said “I can’t breathe” as Mr. Chauvin’s knee pinned him to the pavement. The searing image of Mr. Floyd’s final moments, captured on video, fueled anger and protests across the country. Continue reading.

Court releases police bodycam videos in George Floyd killing

A coalition of media companies had sought release of footage of George Floyd’s killing to the general public. 

Two body-worn camera videos from the day George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police were publicly released Monday by the court after a coalition of media companies intervened and argued for their unrestrained release.

The move comes more than a month after a defense attorney filed the two videos with the court as part of a motion, which makes them public data under state law. The court initially withheld them out of concern that it might taint the jury pool, then allowed them to be viewed by appointment.

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill issued an order Friday changing his position on the videos recorded by former officers J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane and allowing their broad release. The judge wrote in his order that a memorandum explaining his decision would be filed at a later date. Continue reading.

Daily Mail publishes leaked bodycam footage of George Floyd arrest, killing

Daily Mail claims George Floyd footage was leaked to the media company.

A British media company on Monday published segments of two leaked body-worn camera videos showing the arrest and death of George Floyd in May at the hands of Minneapolis police.

The Daily Mail published an article with the videos on its website at 10:53 a.m. Central time. It showed about 10 minutes of video from former officer Thomas Lane’s bodycam and about 18 minutes from former officer J. Alexander Kueng’s bodycam.

The two former officers’ bodycam videos were made available for public viewing inside the Hennepin County courthouse in mid-July, but were prohibited from being recorded or publicly distributed. Continue reading.

Police: ‘Umbrella Man’ was a white supremacist trying to incite George Floyd rioting

Police say the suspect has been identified, but no charges had been filed as of Tuesday afternoon.

A masked man who was seen in a viral video smashing the windows of a south Minneapolis auto parts store during the George Floyd protests, earning him the moniker “Umbrella Man,” is suspected of ties with a white supremacist group and sought to incite racial tension, police said.

A Minneapolis police arson investigator said the act of vandalism at the AutoZone on East Lake Street helped spark a chain reaction that led to days of looting and rioting. The store was among dozens of buildings across the city that burned to the ground in the days that followed.

“This was the first fire that set off a string of fires and looting throughout the precinct and the rest of the city,” Sgt. Erika Christensen wrote in a search warrant affidavit filed in court this week. “Until the actions of the person your affiant has been calling ‘Umbrella Man,’ the protests had been relatively peaceful. The actions of this person created an atmosphere of hostility and tension. Your affiant believes that this individual’s sole aim was to incite violence.” Continue reading.