A state prosecutor and the defense attorney for former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin presented their opening arguments in Chauvin’s murder trial Monday morning.
Chauvin is accused of killing George Floyd during an arrest in May of last year. The trial is being live-streamed from inside the courtroom.
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The Minneapolis City Council Friday approved a plan to pay social media “influencers” cash to spread city-approved messages during the trial of former Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officer Derek Chauvin.
“The Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously Friday to approve a $1 million communications and de-escalation plan that involves partnering with community leaders, local media and social media influencers during Chauvin’s trial set to begin in March, as well the August trial of three other former officers charged in [George] Floyd’s death,” Fox News reported.
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The city of Minneapolis will spend nearly more than six million dollars recruiting new police officers, after beginning 2021 with 200 fewer officers than one year prior.
“Minneapolis will hire dozens more police officers after the City Council on Friday agreed to release $6.4 million to bring on additional recruits,” The Star-Tribune reported.
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Three police organizations representing more than 10,000 police officers, 300 police chiefs, and 87 county sheriffs offices sent a letter to the Minnesota House of Representatives Public Safety, Criminal Justice Reform, Finance and Policy Division remaining non-committal over whether they’ll assist the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) during the upcoming trial of former MPD officer Derek Chauvin.
“We are writing on behalf of the largest statewide law enforcement associations in Minnesota,” the letter said. “Together the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association (MCPA), The Minnesota Sheriff’s Association (MCA), and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) represent more than 300 police chiefs, 87 county sheriff’s, and approximately 10,400 rank-and-file officers respectively.”
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The Minneapolis Police Department is in dire straights as it prepares for possible violence during the trial of one of its former officers.
“Minneapolis has about 200 fewer police officers available to work as the city tries to rebound from a violent year and prepare for more potential unrest,” The Star-Tribune reported. “In the short term, the city is seeking aid from other law enforcement agencies as it plans for the March trial for former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with killing George Floyd.”
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Minneapolis City Councilmember Phillipe Cunningham once claimed that “community engagement” is key to defunding the police. Now, Cunningham has canceled his “Community Office Hours” after facing backlash due to the council’s efforts to defund law enforcement.
Cunningham has served on the council since 2017, when he became the second female-to-male transgender person elected to public office in the U.S. Cunningham also took a key role in the push to amend the City Charter to defund the police in June, and presently heads up the continued action towards this goal.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar said the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is low on officers because cops are “unwilling to work.”
MPD just began 2021 with about 200 fewer officers than it had at the start of 2020 after losing 105 cops during a year filled with riots and anti-police sentiment. During a usual year, the department would expect to lose just over 40 officers. The city now has just 638 active officers.
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The Minneapolis City Council voted to cut $8 million from the Police Department (MPD) in their 2021 budget. However, the Council also also added a caveat to allow for additional future police recruitment, likely dodging a veto from Mayor Jacob Frey.
In a 7-6 vote Wednesday night, the council’s decision doesn’t change the number of officers in 2021, but sets a higher target number for replacing officers who are currently out on leave for post-traumatic stress disorders or other reasons with the council’s authorization.
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The Minneapolis City Council has voted to divert millions of dollars from the 2021 police budget.
The vote was taken as carjackings are up 537% year-to-date, according to the Star Tribune.
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Five months ago, the Minneapolis City Council vowed to “dismantle” their police department.
But this week, the council voted 7-6 to advance a measure to temporarily hire between 20 and 40 additional officers from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Metro Transit Police to respond to violent 911 calls.
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One section of the leaked manifesto, titled “Theory of What Will Happen,” declares that “mass mobilization will and must happen in Minnesota to defend democracy.”
A leaked document allegedly created by TakeAction Minnesota warns of “mass mobilization” and “unrest” in Minneapolis if President Donald Trump is reelected, or if the results of the election are contested.
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Black Lives Matter protesters who marched through the streets of Minneapolis Tuesday night called for shooting the police.
“No justice, no peace. Shoot back at the police,” the crowd of protesters chanted four times before a new chant was started.
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More than 60 Minneapolis residents signed up to speak their minds at the two-hour virtual meeting, grilling council members on their “irresponsible rhetoric” and failure to adequately staff the Minneapolis Police Department.
“We should all know as adults that words such as ‘defund,’ ‘dismantle,’ and ‘abolish’ have severe consequences. We are a city in crisis and need action now,” said one resident who lives in the Loring Park neighborhood.
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A suspect in a shooting that killed congressional candidate Lacy Johnson’s 17-year-old staffer and wounded another was arrested today.
Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) reported that they apprehended the suspect after a short vehicle chase. MPD attempted to stop the suspect’s vehicle in Minneapolis; they caught him about twenty minutes west in Plymouth.
The victims in a Monday afternoon shooting in north Minneapolis had also worked for Republican Lacy Johnson’s congressional campaign, but the two facts are unrelated, the campaign told Alpha News.
According to a press release from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), officers responded to a shooting in the area of the 3800 block of Fremont Avenue North around 4:30 p.m. Monday afternoon.
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Two Minneapolis citizens appear desensitized to their city’s worsening crime in a viral video of a downtown shootout early Sunday morning. The Uber driver’s dash cam recorded the incident.
The interaction between the female passenger and Uber driver is calm despite the violence occurring in front of them.
Representative Ilhan Omar (DFL-MN-5) stated that the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) hasn’t solved half the homicides and destroys rape kits. Because of this, she says, the MPD should be dismantled.
“We can reimagine a public safety system that empowers and provides safety for every person in our city regardless of the color fo their skin or zip code,” the freshman congresswoman tweeted. “Dismantling the Minneapolis Police Department is necessary in order to heal and move forward as a community.”
A Minneapolis police officer dropped to the ground after a metal trash can lid struck him in the head during a resurgence of rioting and looting in the city Wednesday.
The attack, which was reportedly broadcast on Facebook Live, showed a cop trying to open his driver’s-side door before the metal disk whizzed through the air and connected with the back of the unsuspecting officer’s head, according to the New York Post. The uniformed officer dropped to the ground and appeared to be rolling in pain, as fellow law enforcement in riot gear made their way to him, the Post’s video showed.
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The video of a Black homicide suspect’s death reignited riots in Minneapolis on Wednesday. His identity has not been disclosed.
Rumor spread quickly that a police officer who drew his weapon moments prior to the incident was really the one who shot the man, according to KTSP.
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Minneapolis City Council has approved the reinvestment of $1.2 million into a new department for Third Precinct police. The investment will be pledged annually for the next three years.
The decision took place in the council’s Policy & Government Oversight Committee meeting on Thursday afternoon.
Eight Minneapolis residents filed a lawsuit Monday against the City of Minneapolis and Mayor Jacob Frey for the negative repercussions of defunding the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). The plaintiffs allege that city officials’ words and actions concerning law enforcement caused a severe uptick in Metro’s crime rates.
The plaintiffs are represented by the Upper Midwest Law Center (UMWLC), who issued a press release the day after the suit was filed.
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In the death of George Floyd, the State of Minnesota has charged former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin with second-degree murder and former officers Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao with aiding and abetting that murder. But, as will be shown in detail below, the physical, scientific, and electronically recorded evidence in the case overwhelmingly and conclusively proves that these defendants are not guilty of the charges and, in fact, played no material role in bringing about Floyd’s death.
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If you want a look at the dystopian Hell that Democrats will create in your city or town should they win the 2020 election look no further than what has happened in Minneapolis since the city council and Mayor gave the city over to the Far Left BLM revolutionaries.
After the city leaders allowed days of violent insurrection, that burned over three miles of city storefronts, the Minneapolis City Council voted 12-0 to abolish the city police department.
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Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin stands accused of causing the death of George Floyd, sparking riots that cost the Twin Cities up to $500 million worth of property damage. But even if he’s ultimately convicted, taxpayers may still pay part of his pension.
Minnesota is one of 19 states that don’t have pension forfeiture or garnishment laws, according to research from the libertarian Reason Foundation.
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Citing financial woes The Minnesota Department of Corrections (MNDOC) will be closing two prisons.
Prisoners from the Togo and Willow River prisons will be transferred to other facilities and 100 employees will be laid off as a result of the move. These cuts come only a few weeks after 48 Department of Corrections Employees were let go in response to budget concerns resulting from the coronavirus.
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Students saw an increase in reported violence just weeks after the University of Minnesota announced that it would cut ties with the Minneapolis Police Department after the death of George Floyd.
In the weeks following the University of Minnesota’s announcement that it would cut ties with the Minneapolis Police Department, students received multiple systemwide public safety alert messages, telling them to be cautious on and near campus due to various reported violent crimes. This is a substantial increase in safety notifications for Minnesota students, given that prior to the announcement, only seven such announcements with only two emergencies were made in a six month period.
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Not one of the most recent Minneapolis Police Academy recruits dropped out of the training process, despite massive riots in the Minnesota city and calls to defund their department.
Every individual enrolled and set to graduate on June 29 finished the process, Minneapolis Police director of public information John Elder told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an email. Elder said he’d noticed a decrease in the number of people looking to become police officers since the 1980’s, but reported that “no one dropped out” in the most recent class.
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The Minneapolis City Council voted to cut the Minneapolis Police Department’s communications division during its Budget Committee discussion Wednesday. The ultimate goal is to have the city’s communications department handle all emergency calls.
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Minneapolis City Council Member Jeremiah Ellison, the son of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, berated cops who are presently away from the job as many of those officers suffer from PTSD related to the George Floyd riots.
Ellison placed the blame for the recent uptick in violence squarely on cops recently, as he suggested that law enforcement has abandoned the city amidst his own council’s attempts to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). He then suggested that officers are lying about having PTSD because they hate the citizens of Minneapolis. Although he hedged this claim almost immediately, his words drew a sharp response from the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA).
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A north Minneapolis Democrat said his constituents are “facing a real emergency” as the city continues to experience alarming levels of gun violence.
“Every Minnesotan deserves to be safe in their own neighborhood, but right now many people are experiencing gun violence at unsustainable levels,” Rep. Fue Lee (DFL-Minneapolis) said in a statement released Saturday. “The neighborhoods I represent in north Minneapolis are facing a real emergency.”
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A Minnesota judge on Monday warned that he’s likely to move the trials of four former police officers charged in George Floyd’s death out of Minneapolis if public officials, attorneys and family members don’t stop speaking out about the case.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill stopped short of issuing a gag order against attorneys on both sides, but he said he likely will if public statements continue that make it hard to find an impartial jury. Cahill said that would also make him likely to grant a change-of-venue motion if one is filed, as he anticipates.
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A Minnesota judge on Monday warned that he’s likely to move the trials of four former police officers charged in George Floyd’s death out of Minneapolis if public officials, attorneys and family members don’t stop speaking out about the case.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill stopped short of issuing a gag order against attorneys on both sides, but he said he likely will if public statements continue that make it hard to find an impartial jury. Cahill said that would also make him likely to grant a change-of-venue motion if one is filed, as he anticipates.
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A Minnesota judge on Friday rejected allowing cameras in the court for pretrial proceedings of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd.
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Minneapolis has spent $63,000 on private security for three council members who want to abolish the city’s police department.
Council Member Phillipe Cunningham confirmed the report in a statement released on Twitter Friday night.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said during her weekly press briefing Friday that the Democrat-led police reform bill is “worthy of George Kirby’s name.”
The bill, however, is named for George Floyd, who died one month ago while in the custody of the Minneapolis police.
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The Minneapolis City Council on Friday unanimously approved a proposal to change the city charter to allow the police department to be dismantled, following widespread criticism of law enforcement over the killing of George Floyd.
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Three Republican state senators called on U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr and the Department of Justice to investigate the Minneapolis Police Department and its response to recent unrest in the city.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka (R-East Gull Lake) announced plans to hold a series of legislative oversight hearings beginning July 1 on state and local responses to the riots.
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Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN-08), a former law enforcement officer of more than 20 years, announced last week that he will carry police reform legislation in the U.S. House.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced on Wednesday the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act, a Republican-backed police reform bill that was set in motion after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
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Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin falsely claimed that Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis is “denouncing the need for police reform.”
Lewis, a former congressman who’s running against Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), hosted a press conference Monday outside the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct to express his support for the “good men and women of law enforcement,” and condemn Democratic efforts to abolish the police.
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A second former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd is out of jail after posting bail.
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Several schools across the nation have launched memorial scholarships in honor of George Floyd, including the University of Minnesota and its law school.
The University of Minnesota Law School announced the creation of a George Floyd Memorial Scholarship in Law on Monday.
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A 911 dispatcher who was apparently watching in real time as a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into the neck of George Floyd called a supervisor to tell him what she saw, not caring if it made her look like a “snitch,” according to a recording of the call made public Monday.
In the call, the dispatcher calls a police sergeant and says what she was seeing on live video looked “different” and that she wanted to let him know about it. The dispatcher was in a 911 call center at the time and was watching video from a surveillance camera posted at the intersection where police apprehended Floyd, according to city spokesman Casper Hill.
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Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) was unable to provide details on who will respond to violent crimes in her city without a police force, but said the Minneapolis Police Department is “rotten to the root” during a Sunday interview.
“What takes its place?” CNN host Jake Tapper asked the congresswoman. “Who investigates crimes? Who arrests criminals? What happens?”
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At least seven Minneapolis police officers have quit and another seven are in the process of resigning, citing a lack of support from department and city leaders as protests over George Floyd’s death escalated.
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Federal authorities charged a St. Paul man this week with aiding and abetting arson for his involvement in the destruction of the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct.
The Third Precinct was one of the hundreds of buildings destroyed by rioters in the wake of George Floyd’s alleged murder by police officers on Memorial Day. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has faced substantial criticism for his decision to give up the Third Precinct on the night of May 28.
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The Minneapolis Police Department will withdraw from police union contract negotiations, Chief Medaria Arradondo said Wednesday, as he announced initial steps in what he said would be transformational reforms to the agency in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Faced with calls from activists and a majority of City Council members to dismantle or defund the department, Arradondo also said he would use a new system to identify problem officers and intervene if there are early warning signs of trouble.
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Two members of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday in favor of removing the county’s medical examiner because they didn’t like the results of his autopsy in the case of George Floyd.
Chief Medical Examiner Andrew Baker released a 20-page autopsy report last week with the permission of Floyd’s family and concluded that Floyd’s heart stopped while being restrained by officers. The report revealed that Floyd tested positive for the coronavirus, had fentanyl and meth in his blood, and had a number of underlying health conditions.
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A judge on Monday kept bail at $1 million for a former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder in George Floyd’s death.
Derek Chauvin, 44, said almost nothing during an 11-minute hearing in which he appeared before Hennepin County Judge Denise Reilly on closed-circuit television from the state’s maximum security prison in Oak Park Heights.
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Anoka County Sheriff James Stuart said “many agencies” have “no appetite” for helping Minneapolis in the future if its leaders follow through on a plan to abolish the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD).
“The members of the Minneapolis City Council should be mindful that numerous other law enforcement agencies have responded to support them, to restore order, to protect their citizens and to return peace to their city during recent tragic days. We did this while joining our communities in disgust over the way in which George Floyd lost his life and in hopes of a stronger, unified future,” Stuart said in a statement released on Facebook Sunday night.
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Several institutions plan to cut ties with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) in response to the alleged murder of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while in police custody on Memorial Day.
University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel informed students last week that the school will no longer contract with the MPD for large events, like football games and concerts, or specialized law enforcement services, such as K-9 explosive detection units.
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