A shooter opened fire on students attending Mass on the third day of school, authorities said. The assailant fired through the school's chapel windows at students sitting in pews and then committed suicide, officials said. The children killed were 8 years old and 10 years old, they said.


Minneapolis School Shooting: 'Kill Trump' Chilling Messages On Guns | Shooter Kills Himself | WION

Minneapolis school shooting: FBI treating shooting as domestic terrorism 

WATCH | Minneapolis School Shooting: Two Children and Suspect Killed; Trump Briefed on the Fatal Incident

A shooter opened fire on students attending Mass on the third day of school, authorities said. The assailant fired through the school's chapel windows at students sitting in pews and then committed suicide, officials said. The children killed were 8 years old and 10 years old, they said.



Minneapolis School Shooting Kills 2 Children; FBI Probes Terrorism | Trump Briefs on Incident | WION

A tragic school shooting in Minneapolis has left three people dead, sparking renewed concerns over gun violence in U.S. schools. Authorities are investigating the incident as the community mourns the loss.

Minneapolis school shooting: At least three dead, 20 injured in fatal shooting 

Police in Minneapolis routinely use excessive force and discriminate against Black and Native American people, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday after a two-year investigation prompted by the police killing of George Floyd.

Minneapolis police face federal oversight for excessive force, discrimination

As the first major American city to permit the announcement, or "adhan," to be heard over speakers five times a day, year-round, Minneapolis will permit the&nbsp;broadcast&nbsp;of the Muslim call to prayer at all hours.

The Minneapolis City Council overwhelmingly decided on&nbsp;Thursday to change the city's noise ordinance, which had barred morning and late-evening calls at specific times of the year owing to noise limits, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The decision took place during the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims.

“The Constitution doesn’t sleep at night,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, after the vote. He said the action in Minneapolis shows the world that a “nation founded on freedom of religion makes good on its promise.”

Since at least the 1990s, a significant portion of East African immigrants have lived in Minneapolis, where mosques are now commonplace.&nbsp;No organised community resistance was raised to the decision. Next week, it is anticipated that Mayor Jacob Frey will sign the bill.

“Minneapolis has become a city for all religions,” Imam Mohammed Dukuly of Masjid An-Nur mosque in Minneapolis told the Associated press,&nbsp;who was among several Muslim leaders who witnessed the vote.

ALSO WATCH |&nbsp;US court confined Mifepristone use to seven weeks of pregnancy

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-court-confined-mifepristone-use-to-seven-weeks-of-pregnancy-582663/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

In order to allow the adhan to be broadcast outdoors five times per day during Ramadan, city officials collaborated with the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque three years ago. When light first comes in the morning, at midday, in the middle to late afternoon, at sunset, and when the night sky appears, prayers are performed. Summertime sunrise in Minnesota can come as early as 5:30 a.m., and the solstice sunset occurs after 9 p.m.

Last year, the city permitted broadcasts all year long, but only from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., eliminating early morning and occasionally late night prayer.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pentagon-leak-us-president-biden-says-probe-will-examine-why-leaker-had-classified-access-582597">Pentagon leak: US President Biden says investigation will examine why leaker had classified access</a>

Jewish and Christian leaders who recently attended a public meeting supported extending the adhan's hours.

Councilwoman Lisa Goodman, who on Thursday was observing the last day of Passover, stated that there are no legal limitations on the Jewish call to prayer, which is typically spoken rather than broadcast.

(With inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

<iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe>

As the first major American city to permit the announcement, or "adhan," to be heard over speakers five times a day, year-round, Minneapolis will permit the broadcast of the Muslim call to prayer at all hours.

As the first major American city to permit the announcement, or "adhan," to be heard over speakers five times a day, year-round, Minneapolis will permit the broadcast of the Muslim call to prayer at all hours. The Minneapolis City Council overwhelmingly decided on Thursday to change the city's noise ordinance, which had barred morning and late-evening calls at specific times of the year owing to noise limits, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The decision took place during the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims. “The Constitution doesn’t sleep at night,” said Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, after the vote. He said the action in Minneapolis shows the world that a “nation founded on freedom of religion makes good on its promise.” Since at least the 1990s, a significant portion of East African immigrants have lived in Minneapolis, where mosques are now commonplace. No organised community resistance was raised to the decision. Next week, it is anticipated that Mayor Jacob Frey will sign the bill. “Minneapolis has become a city for all religions,” Imam Mohammed Dukuly of Masjid An-Nur mosque in Minneapolis told the Associated press, who was among several Muslim leaders who witnessed the vote. ALSO WATCH | US court confined Mifepristone use to seven weeks of pregnancy In order to allow the adhan to be broadcast outdoors five times per day during Ramadan, city officials collaborated with the Dar Al-Hijrah mosque three years ago. When light first comes in the morning, at midday, in the middle to late afternoon, at sunset, and when the night sky appears, prayers are performed. Summertime sunrise in Minnesota can come as early as 5:30 a.m., and the solstice sunset occurs after 9 p.m. Last year, the city permitted broadcasts all year long, but only from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., eliminating early morning and occasionally late night prayer. ALSO READ | Pentagon leak: US President Biden says investigation will examine why leaker had classified access Jewish and Christian leaders who recently attended a public meeting supported extending the adhan's hours. Councilwoman Lisa Goodman, who on Thursday was observing the last day of Passover, stated that there are no legal limitations on the Jewish call to prayer, which is typically spoken rather than broadcast. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Minneapolis becomes first US city to allow broadcast of Islamic call to prayer at all hours

J. Alexander Kueng, 29, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of playing a role in the murder of George Floyd has pleaded guilty in the case. Reportedly, Kueng entered into an agreement with prosecutors hours before a jury was to be selected for his trial.

J. Alexander Kueng, 29, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of playing a role in the murder of George Floyd has pleaded guilty in the case. Reportedly, Kueng entered into an agreement with prosecutors hours before a jury was to be selected for his trial. Judge Peter Cahill overseeing the case asked Kueng if he understood that his attorneys had entered into an agreement with prosecutors and that he had the right to a trial. To which Kueng replied in affirmative and said he understood the agreement. Kueng admitted to aiding and abetting the second-degree manslaughter of Floyd. According to details of the deal, he will serve 3.5 years in prison which will run concurrently with another three-year sentence that he was given in a federal trial. The deal also means that the serious charge of aiding and abetting second-degree murder will now be dropped against Kueng. While Kueng accepted the plea deal, the second former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao refused to accept the deal and said he will face the trial. In a previous hearing, he said pleading guilty would be a 'lie and a sin'. Read more: Two remaining Minneapolis police officers sentenced to prison in George Floyd killing The video of George Floyd's killing showed former officer Kueng holding the black man's back while Thao kept bystanders back during the killing. Meanwhile, Derek Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck for an excruciating nine and a half minutes, before he lost consciousness and died. Both officers failed to stop Chauvin and became complicit in the crime. Derek Chauvin and his incarceration As reported extensively by WION, Derek Chauvin, the main convict in the case who knelt on the neck of helpless Floyd and smothered him to death was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for denying civil rights to his victim. WATCH: George Floyd death: Derek Chauvin, former police officer sentenced to prison for 21 years × This sentence was added on top of the 22-and-a-half-year sentence that Chauvin is already serving for murder. The former police officer pleaded guilty of murder last year. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Ex-Minneapolis officer pleads guilty in the George Floyd murder case

It's been two years since the death of George Floyd, an African American man who was brutally killed by law enforcement officers in the state of Minneapolis. Now, a similar incident has been reported from&nbsp;Arkansas&nbsp;where three police officers were caught in video footage brutally assaulting a suspect under arrest.&nbsp;

Reportedly, the incident took place in&nbsp;Mulberry on Sunday morning when a man, seemingly making threats to a convenience store employee was confronted by the police officers. According to the official police statement, the suspect pushed a deputy to the ground and punched the back of his head, leading to the arrest.&nbsp;

Read more:<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/derek-chauvin-sentenced-to-more-than-20-years-in-prison-for-violating-george-floyds-rights-495431"> Derek Chauvin sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for violating George Floyd's rights</a>

However, the video footage of the incident, made by one of the witnesses nearby shows the three police officers landing incessant blows on the victim, whose face has been forced deep into the tarmac of the sidewalk.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Crawford sheriff dept Arkansas <a href="https://t.co/KZAmwzwwmV">pic.twitter.com/KZAmwzwwmV</a>
— Naomi Johnson (@NaomiRHelm) <a href="https://twitter.com/NaomiRHelm/status/1561436191895035904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Two police officers can be seen on top of the suspect, using clenched fists to punch him repeatedly. Another officer can be seen using his knee to land repeated jabs to the abdomen and back of the victim.&nbsp;

After the video went viral and the police officers were exposed,&nbsp;Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante stated that&nbsp;two county deputies were suspended.&nbsp;

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/two-remaining-minneapolis-police-officers-sentenced-to-prison-in-george-floyd-killing-501436">Two remaining Minneapolis police officers sentenced to prison in George Floyd killing</a>

“I hold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter,” said&nbsp;Damante .

Furthermore,&nbsp;Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory stated that one of his&nbsp;officers involved in the incided was also sent on leave, pending outcome of the investigation.&nbsp;

“The city of Mulberry and the Mulberry police department takes these investigations very seriously,” Greogory was quoted as saying by AP.

The US police system has come under intense scrutiny in the last few years with its officers taking extreme measures to neutralise suspects.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies) 
 
WATCH WION LIVE HERE:&nbsp;

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

&nbsp;

It's been two years since the death of George Floyd, an African American man who was brutally killed by law enforcement officers in the state of Minneapolis. Now, a similar incident has been reported from Arkansas where three police officers were caught in video footage brutally assaulting a suspect under arrest.

It's been two years since the death of George Floyd, an African American man who was brutally killed by law enforcement officers in the state of Minneapolis. Now, a similar incident has been reported from Arkansas where three police officers were caught in video footage brutally assaulting a suspect under arrest. Reportedly, the incident took place in Mulberry on Sunday morning when a man, seemingly making threats to a convenience store employee was confronted by the police officers. According to the official police statement, the suspect pushed a deputy to the ground and punched the back of his head, leading to the arrest. Read more: Derek Chauvin sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for violating George Floyd's rights However, the video footage of the incident, made by one of the witnesses nearby shows the three police officers landing incessant blows on the victim, whose face has been forced deep into the tarmac of the sidewalk. Crawford sheriff dept Arkansas pic.twitter.com/KZAmwzwwmV — Naomi Johnson (@NaomiRHelm) August 21, 2022 × Two police officers can be seen on top of the suspect, using clenched fists to punch him repeatedly. Another officer can be seen using his knee to land repeated jabs to the abdomen and back of the victim. After the video went viral and the police officers were exposed, Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante stated that two county deputies were suspended. Read more: Two remaining Minneapolis police officers sentenced to prison in George Floyd killing “I hold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter,” said Damante . Furthermore, Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory stated that one of his officers involved in the incided was also sent on leave, pending outcome of the investigation. “The city of Mulberry and the Mulberry police department takes these investigations very seriously,” Greogory was quoted as saying by AP. The US police system has come under intense scrutiny in the last few years with its officers taking extreme measures to neutralise suspects. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

WATCH: Three officers suspended in the US for brutally assaulting a suspect

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer, has filed an appeal on Monday to overturn conviction for George Floyd’s murder in 2020. &nbsp;

The ex-cop has filed the 82-page plea with the state Court of Appeals. It lists over a dozen aspects of the case, media reports said. &nbsp;

The attorney of Chauvin, William F Mohrman, has criticised the proceedings and called them "structurally defective". The filing said it had witnessed extensive pretrial publicity and protests outside the courthouse. &nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/rare-admission-colombian-militarys-10-retired-soldiers-confess-to-killing-120-civilians-474374" hreflang="en">Rare admission: Colombian military's 10 retired soldiers confess to killing 120 civilians</a>

The city had also announced at the time of selection of jury that it would pay a $27 million settlement to the family of Floyd. &nbsp;

Chauvin is now asking the court to review many aspects of the proceedings like whether the jury should have been fully sequestered, venue changed, trial delayed due to media coverage and pretrial protests. &nbsp;

In the appeal, the prosecutors have also been accused of misconduct. It has been alleged the attorneys of the state did not properly disclose discovery information and prepare prosecution witnesses adequately. &nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;Soon-to-be migrants Nicaraguans learn swimming as they plan to migrate to the US

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/soon-to-be-migrants-nicaraguans-learn-swimming-as-they-plan-to-migrate-to-the-us-474352/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

The conviction of Chauvin should be overturned, argued the appeal’s filing. Otherwise, the court should order a fresh trial in a different venue, it said. &nbsp;

The earlier court proceedings were "so pervaded by error, misconduct and prejudice that they were structurally defective," the filing said. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Chauvin was not given the constitutional right to due process and a fair trial, it added. &nbsp;&nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer, has filed an appeal on Monday to overturn conviction for George Floyd’s murder in 2020. The ex-cop has filed the 82-page plea with the state Court of Appeals.

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer, has filed an appeal on Monday to overturn conviction for George Floyd’s murder in 2020. The ex-cop has filed the 82-page plea with the state Court of Appeals. It lists over a dozen aspects of the case, media reports said. The attorney of Chauvin, William F Mohrman, has criticised the proceedings and called them "structurally defective". The filing said it had witnessed extensive pretrial publicity and protests outside the courthouse. Also Read | Rare admission: Colombian military's 10 retired soldiers confess to killing 120 civilians The city had also announced at the time of selection of jury that it would pay a $27 million settlement to the family of Floyd. Chauvin is now asking the court to review many aspects of the proceedings like whether the jury should have been fully sequestered, venue changed, trial delayed due to media coverage and pretrial protests. In the appeal, the prosecutors have also been accused of misconduct. It has been alleged the attorneys of the state did not properly disclose discovery information and prepare prosecution witnesses adequately. Watch: Soon-to-be migrants Nicaraguans learn swimming as they plan to migrate to the US × The conviction of Chauvin should be overturned, argued the appeal’s filing. Otherwise, the court should order a fresh trial in a different venue, it said. The earlier court proceedings were "so pervaded by error, misconduct and prejudice that they were structurally defective," the filing said. Chauvin was not given the constitutional right to due process and a fair trial, it added. WATCH WION LIVE HERE (With inputs from agencies)

Former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin files appeal to overturn conviction for George Floyd’s murder

Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis on Friday announced a moratorium on no-knock warrants one day after the Police Department released body camera footage of its SWAT team fatally shooting a man who was lying on a couch under a blanket during an early-morning raid.

The man who was killed, Amir Locke, 22, had a gun in his hand, but it is unclear whether he was aware that police officers had entered the apartment shortly before 7 a.m.

Keith Ellison, the attorney general of Minnesota, who led the prosecutions of former police officers in the killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright, said his office would join a review of the police shooting. The mayor said no-knock warrants could not be requested or conducted while the city evaluated its current policy.

The graphic and brief video released by the Police Department on Thursday night shows the encounter from Wednesday morning, when its SWAT team had been carrying out a warrant for the St. Paul Police Department’s homicide unit.

In the video, an officer is seen quietly turning a key in the apartment door before officers file in and begin to yell.

“Police! Search warrant!” several officers are heard shouting.

“Hands, hands!” one officer says.

“Get on the ground!” another yells.

One officer kicked the back of the couch, jarring Locke and making a gun visible. The police fired at least three times in response.

The entire encounter took less than 10 seconds.

In a news release published the day of the shooting, the Police Department said officers had performed emergency aid on Locke, who died at a nearby hospital.

“I’m under no illusion that processing this video will be easy,” Amelia Huffman, the city’s interim police chief, said at a news conference Thursday. “It won’t be. It shouldn’t be. These are wrenching videos to watch. They’re painful, but it’s necessary.”

Huffman said that officers had a warrant for three locations in the apartment complex, and that Locke was not named in the original warrant.

Ellison, the state attorney general, said Friday that his office would partner with the Hennepin County attorney’s office to review the shooting.

“Amir Locke’s life mattered,” Ellison said in a statement, promising the Locke family “a fair and thorough review.”

Ellison led the prosecution of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who pleaded guilty to federal crimes for the killing of Floyd, and Kimberly Potter, a former Minnesota police officer who was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Wright.

The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement that one officer fired shots at Locke, and it released the personnel file of Officer Mark Hanneman.

Ben Crump, a lawyer representing Locke’s family, compared the shooting of Locke, who was Black, to the killing of Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker who was fatally shot by Louisville, Kentucky, police officers in March 2020 during a botched raid on her apartment.

“If we learned anything from Breonna Taylor it is that no-knock warrants have deadly consequences for innocent, law-abiding Black citizens,” Crump said at a news conference Friday.

No-knock warrants allow police to enter property without first announcing their presence and are primarily used when there is concern that evidence will be destroyed or officers will be put in danger.

Tony Romanucci, another lawyer representing Locke’s family, said Locke had “no idea” who was in his apartment. “Had they announced who they were and why they were there, this tragedy could have been averted,” Romanucci said.

Frey said in a statement Friday that no-knock warrants would not be allowed while the city reviewed its policy with experts who helped create “Breonna’s Law,” an ordinance passed after Taylor’s death that bans no-knock warrants in Louisville.

During the moratorium, which the mayor said was “to ensure safety of both the public and officers,” the police must knock, announce their presence and wait a reasonable amount of time before entering with a warrant.

Locke’s father, Andre Locke, said at the news conference that his son was the third oldest of eight siblings. He said his son had been working for the food delivery service DoorDash and was “a week away” from moving to Dallas, where his mother, Karen Wells, lives. Andre Locke said that several of his cousins worked in law enforcement and that one of them was a mentor to Amir.

“It was hurtful, it hurt deep to see my son executed, to see our son executed,” Andre Locke said. “But the part that struck me the most was that he never got a chance to see or to know who killed him.”

Wells said she and her son would frequently talk on the FaceTime app when they were apart.

“I am going to miss just being able to see my son grow into a man, that’s what I am going to miss,” Wells said. “I am going to miss the fact that he didn’t, he won’t even get the chance to become a father and give us grandchildren.”

The Minneapolis Police Department has been under scrutiny since Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020.

Floyd’s death generated widespread outrage, and protests across the country that summer called for social justice and police reform. An attempt to change policing in Minneapolis failed in November, when 56% of voters rejected a ballot measure that would have replaced the city’s Police Department with a public safety agency.

The release of the footage of Locke’s death came more quickly than in past cases, and after pressure from Rep. Ilhan Omar and state officials.

Ten members of the Minneapolis delegation of the state House of Representatives had called for the footage to be released immediately in a letter to Frey and Huffman.

“Minneapolis has a long path before us in establishing a trusting, effective and professional relationship between its Police Department and community,” the representatives wrote.

Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis on Friday announced a moratorium on no-knock warrants one day after the Police Department released body camera footage of its SWAT team fatally shooting a man who was lying on a couch under a blanket during an early-morning raid.

Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis on Friday announced a moratorium on no-knock warrants one day after the Police Department released body camera footage of its SWAT team fatally shooting a man who was lying on a couch under a blanket during an early-morning raid. The man who was killed, Amir Locke, 22, had a gun in his hand, but it is unclear whether he was aware that police officers had entered the apartment shortly before 7 a.m. Keith Ellison, the attorney general of Minnesota, who led the prosecutions of former police officers in the killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright, said his office would join a review of the police shooting. The mayor said no-knock warrants could not be requested or conducted while the city evaluated its current policy. The graphic and brief video released by the Police Department on Thursday night shows the encounter from Wednesday morning, when its SWAT team had been carrying out a warrant for the St. Paul Police Department’s homicide unit. In the video, an officer is seen quietly turning a key in the apartment door before officers file in and begin to yell. “Police! Search warrant!” several officers are heard shouting. “Hands, hands!” one officer says. “Get on the ground!” another yells. One officer kicked the back of the couch, jarring Locke and making a gun visible. The police fired at least three times in response. The entire encounter took less than 10 seconds. In a news release published the day of the shooting, the Police Department said officers had performed emergency aid on Locke, who died at a nearby hospital. “I’m under no illusion that processing this video will be easy,” Amelia Huffman, the city’s interim police chief, said at a news conference Thursday. “It won’t be. It shouldn’t be. These are wrenching videos to watch. They’re painful, but it’s necessary.” Huffman said that officers had a warrant for three locations in the apartment complex, and that Locke was not named in the original warrant. Ellison, the state attorney general, said Friday that his office would partner with the Hennepin County attorney’s office to review the shooting. “Amir Locke’s life mattered,” Ellison said in a statement, promising the Locke family “a fair and thorough review.” Ellison led the prosecution of Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who pleaded guilty to federal crimes for the killing of Floyd, and Kimberly Potter, a former Minnesota police officer who was convicted of manslaughter in the death of Wright. The Minneapolis Police Department said in a statement that one officer fired shots at Locke, and it released the personnel file of Officer Mark Hanneman. Ben Crump, a lawyer representing Locke’s family, compared the shooting of Locke, who was Black, to the killing of Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker who was fatally shot by Louisville, Kentucky, police officers in March 2020 during a botched raid on her apartment. “If we learned anything from Breonna Taylor it is that no-knock warrants have deadly consequences for innocent, law-abiding Black citizens,” Crump said at a news conference Friday. No-knock warrants allow police to enter property without first announcing their presence and are primarily used when there is concern that evidence will be destroyed or officers will be put in danger. Tony Romanucci, another lawyer representing Locke’s family, said Locke had “no idea” who was in his apartment. “Had they announced who they were and why they were there, this tragedy could have been averted,” Romanucci said. Frey said in a statement Friday that no-knock warrants would not be allowed while the city reviewed its policy with experts who helped create “Breonna’s Law,” an ordinance passed after Taylor’s death that bans no-knock warrants in Louisville. During the moratorium, which the mayor said was “to ensure safety of both the public and officers,” the police must knock, announce their presence and wait a reasonable amount of time before entering with a warrant. Locke’s father, Andre Locke, said at the news conference that his son was the third oldest of eight siblings. He said his son had been working for the food delivery service DoorDash and was “a week away” from moving to Dallas, where his mother, Karen Wells, lives. Andre Locke said that several of his cousins worked in law enforcement and that one of them was a mentor to Amir. “It was hurtful, it hurt deep to see my son executed, to see our son executed,” Andre Locke said. “But the part that struck me the most was that he never got a chance to see or to know who killed him.” Wells said she and her son would frequently talk on the FaceTime app when they were apart. “I am going to miss just being able to see my son grow into a man, that’s what I am going to miss,” Wells said. “I am going to miss the fact that he didn’t, he won’t even get the chance to become a father and give us grandchildren.” The Minneapolis Police Department has been under scrutiny since Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest in May 2020. Floyd’s death generated widespread outrage, and protests across the country that summer called for social justice and police reform. An attempt to change policing in Minneapolis failed in November, when 56% of voters rejected a ballot measure that would have replaced the city’s Police Department with a public safety agency. The release of the footage of Locke’s death came more quickly than in past cases, and after pressure from Rep. Ilhan Omar and state officials. Ten members of the Minneapolis delegation of the state House of Representatives had called for the footage to be released immediately in a letter to Frey and Huffman. “Minneapolis has a long path before us in establishing a trusting, effective and professional relationship between its Police Department and community,” the representatives wrote.

Minneapolis suspends no-knock warrants after police killing

18 months after African American George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis sparked protests for racial justice around the world, Minneapolis voters have chosen not to replace their police force with a new department that would have taken a holistic approach to crime.

The official election results show that over 56 per cent of Minneapolis residents voted against changing the city charter to create the new department, which would have provided "public safety functions through a comprehensive public health approach."

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-school-mural-was-supposed-to-celebrate-black-lives-instead-it-was-destroyed-425605">A school mural was supposed to celebrate Black Lives. Instead, it was destroyed.</a>

The murder of Floyd a 46-year-old black man by a white police officer in May 2020 had triggered protests in Minneapolis and other US cities, with people calling for an end to police brutality and "defund the police."

Residents were angry about a policing system they considered irredeemably flawed and the ballot initiative arose out of that anger.&nbsp;

However, even those who supported scrapping the Minneapolis police department rejected this. In place of disbanding all armed officers, they recommended rethinking how and when police are used.

The failure of the amendment goes a long way to prove that even in liberal cities where scepticism of the police is strong, many Americans are unwilling to do away with the police.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ex-cop-convicted-of-george-floyds-murder-files-appeal-415631">Ex-cop convicted of George Floyd's murder files appeal</a>

Leili Fatehi, campaign manager for All of Mpls, which campaigned against dissolving the police department, said voters gave a clear mandate for continuing to work on reforms within the structure of the agency.

According to her, neither side of the ballot measure is happy with the status quo of policing in the city, but they disagree on how best to make changes.

Fatehi said that they hoped to see Minneapolis residents work together to hold the next mayor and City Council accountable so they would roll up their sleeves and get to work.

If the Minneapolis ballot measure had passed, the city council and the mayor would have been responsible for determining the functions of the Department of Public Safety. Additionally, social workers and mental health experts would have been more prominent in the department.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/is-a-new-covid-pandemic-emerging-or-is-it-an-endemic-now-experts-answer-426439" hreflang="en">Is a new&nbsp;Covid&nbsp;pandemic&nbsp;emerging or is it an endemic now? Experts answer</a>

The new department could have included "licensed peace officers (police officers), if necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities for public safety," according to the ballot measure.

In the months since Floyd's murder, several large cities, including Minneapolis, have invested more money in mental health programs, and have experimented with social workers being dispatched instead of armed police officers.

Responding to a national call to defund, some departments had curtailed minor traffic stops and arrests, and some had cut police budgets. However, since then, in response to rising gun violence and shifting politics, some have restored funding.

But, it is worth noting that no large city went as far as getting rid of its police force and replacing it with something new.

(With inputs from agencies)

18 months after African American George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis sparked protests for racial justice around the world, Minneapolis voters have chosen not to replace their police force with a new department that would have taken a holistic approach to crime.

18 months after African American George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis sparked protests for racial justice around the world, Minneapolis voters have chosen not to replace their police force with a new department that would have taken a holistic approach to crime. The official election results show that over 56 per cent of Minneapolis residents voted against changing the city charter to create the new department, which would have provided "public safety functions through a comprehensive public health approach." Also read | A school mural was supposed to celebrate Black Lives. Instead, it was destroyed. The murder of Floyd a 46-year-old black man by a white police officer in May 2020 had triggered protests in Minneapolis and other US cities, with people calling for an end to police brutality and "defund the police." Residents were angry about a policing system they considered irredeemably flawed and the ballot initiative arose out of that anger. However, even those who supported scrapping the Minneapolis police department rejected this. In place of disbanding all armed officers, they recommended rethinking how and when police are used. The failure of the amendment goes a long way to prove that even in liberal cities where scepticism of the police is strong, many Americans are unwilling to do away with the police. Also read | Ex-cop convicted of George Floyd's murder files appeal Leili Fatehi, campaign manager for All of Mpls, which campaigned against dissolving the police department, said voters gave a clear mandate for continuing to work on reforms within the structure of the agency. According to her, neither side of the ballot measure is happy with the status quo of policing in the city, but they disagree on how best to make changes. Fatehi said that they hoped to see Minneapolis residents work together to hold the next mayor and City Council accountable so they would roll up their sleeves and get to work. If the Minneapolis ballot measure had passed, the city council and the mayor would have been responsible for determining the functions of the Department of Public Safety. Additionally, social workers and mental health experts would have been more prominent in the department. Also read | Is a new Covid pandemic emerging or is it an endemic now? Experts answer The new department could have included "licensed peace officers (police officers), if necessary, to fulfill its responsibilities for public safety," according to the ballot measure. In the months since Floyd's murder, several large cities, including Minneapolis, have invested more money in mental health programs, and have experimented with social workers being dispatched instead of armed police officers. Responding to a national call to defund, some departments had curtailed minor traffic stops and arrests, and some had cut police budgets. However, since then, in response to rising gun violence and shifting politics, some have restored funding. But, it is worth noting that no large city went as far as getting rid of its police force and replacing it with something new. (With inputs from agencies)

In spite of the anger over George Floyd's murder, Minneapolis votes against scrapping police department

A group of protestors was rammed by a car that drove into the crowd, taking one woman's life and injuring another.

The crowd was protesting against a shooting that had taken place a few weeks ago and involved an officer. While the crowd was gathered for demonstrations, a person drove into the group in the early hours of Monday.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-city-of-minneapolis-reopens-intersection-where-george-floyd-was-killed-389271">US city of Minneapolis reopens intersection where George Floyd was killed</a>

A demonstration was being held to protest the killing of Winston Smith, a 32-year-old Back man, by was murdered by police officers while executing a warrant.

Authorities said a suspect is in custody after the deadly crash, after being caught on the surveillance camera. Investigators also revealed that the preliminary findings have found probable involvement of drugs or alcohol.

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-in-george-floyd-murder-case-389135" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-in-george-floyd-murder-case-389135&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjI05Hz7fvwAhUBH7cAHb0OB48QFjAAegQICRAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw1sasOzasf6weyuZLKwZgjR" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-in-george-floyd-murder-case-389135" target="_blank">Prosecutors seek 30-year sentence in&nbsp;George Floyd&nbsp;murder case</a>

The driver of the car was pulled out from the vehicle immediately after the crash and was being beaten up by the crowd.&nbsp;He was saved by the police who then took the driver into custody.

One woman has been killed in a deadly car crash and the other person is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

A group of protestors was rammed by a car that drove into the crowd, taking one woman's life and injuring another. The crowd was protesting against a shooting that had taken place a few weeks ago and involved an officer.

A group of protestors was rammed by a car that drove into the crowd, taking one woman's life and injuring another. The crowd was protesting against a shooting that had taken place a few weeks ago and involved an officer. While the crowd was gathered for demonstrations, a person drove into the group in the early hours of Monday. Also read | US city of Minneapolis reopens intersection where George Floyd was killed A demonstration was being held to protest the killing of Winston Smith, a 32-year-old Back man, by was murdered by police officers while executing a warrant. Authorities said a suspect is in custody after the deadly crash, after being caught on the surveillance camera. Investigators also revealed that the preliminary findings have found probable involvement of drugs or alcohol. Also read | Prosecutors seek 30-year sentence in George Floyd murder case The driver of the car was pulled out from the vehicle immediately after the crash and was being beaten up by the crowd. He was saved by the police who then took the driver into custody. One woman has been killed in a deadly car crash and the other person is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Minneapolis: Driver rams car into protesters, killing one

The city of Minneapolis on Thursday began reopening the intersection where George Floyd died, which became a memorial to the African American whose killing sparked a racial reckoning but has also been marred by violence.

City workers arrived before daybreak to remove concrete barriers blocking access to the intersection where the 46-year-old was killed by a white police officer who knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-in-george-floyd-murder-case-389135" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-in-george-floyd-murder-case-389135&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwjI05Hz7fvwAhUBH7cAHb0OB48QFjAAegQICRAC&amp;usg=AOvVaw1sasOzasf6weyuZLKwZgjR" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/prosecutors-seek-30-year-sentence-in-george-floyd-murder-case-389135" target="_blank">Prosecutors seek 30-year sentence in&nbsp;George Floyd&nbsp;murder case</a>

They installed signs to create a roundabout encircling a statue of a huge raised fist erected in the center of what has been renamed "George Floyd Square."

For more than a year, equal rights activists have occupied the square, tying its reopening to the adoption of police reforms. A local residents association was on hand Thursday to defuse tensions with them as the city workers moved in.&nbsp;

The site has become a symbol of the fractures caused by racism and the oppression of Black people across the United States, and is illustrated with numerous murals, and community garden and other installations.&nbsp;

But it has also become a dangerous zone where the police are not welcome.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/one-year-after-floyds-death-family-urges-to-pass-police-reform-bill-388100">WATCH |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/one-year-after-floyds-death-family-urges-to-pass-police-reform-bill-388100/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Shootings are frequent, especially at night, and have resulted in a dozen deaths or injuries in the area in a year, according to law enforcement.&nbsp;

Police are not involved in the operation to reopen the intersection, a spokesman told AFP.&nbsp;

And the city is "taking great care to preserve artwork and artifacts" there, added a city council representative, Sarah McKenzie.

Authorities have long wanted to reopen the intersection but had been waiting for a conclusion in the trial of white police officer Derek Chauvin, who in April was convicted of killing Floyd.

To help the neighborhood bounce back, the Floyd family plans to invest $500,000 out of the $27 million they won in a wrongful death settlement against the city in local economic and cultural groups.

The city of Minneapolis on Thursday began reopening the intersection where George Floyd died, which became a memorial to the African American whose killing sparked a racial reckoning but has also been marred by violence.

The city of Minneapolis on Thursday began reopening the intersection where George Floyd died, which became a memorial to the African American whose killing sparked a racial reckoning but has also been marred by violence. City workers arrived before daybreak to remove concrete barriers blocking access to the intersection where the 46-year-old was killed by a white police officer who knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020. Also read | Prosecutors seek 30-year sentence in George Floyd murder case They installed signs to create a roundabout encircling a statue of a huge raised fist erected in the center of what has been renamed "George Floyd Square." For more than a year, equal rights activists have occupied the square, tying its reopening to the adoption of police reforms. A local residents association was on hand Thursday to defuse tensions with them as the city workers moved in. The site has become a symbol of the fractures caused by racism and the oppression of Black people across the United States, and is illustrated with numerous murals, and community garden and other installations. But it has also become a dangerous zone where the police are not welcome. WATCH | Shootings are frequent, especially at night, and have resulted in a dozen deaths or injuries in the area in a year, according to law enforcement. Police are not involved in the operation to reopen the intersection, a spokesman told AFP. And the city is "taking great care to preserve artwork and artifacts" there, added a city council representative, Sarah McKenzie. Authorities have long wanted to reopen the intersection but had been waiting for a conclusion in the trial of white police officer Derek Chauvin, who in April was convicted of killing Floyd. To help the neighborhood bounce back, the Floyd family plans to invest $500,000 out of the $27 million they won in a wrongful death settlement against the city in local economic and cultural groups.

US city of Minneapolis reopens intersection where George Floyd was killed

A US federal grand jury on Friday indicted all four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the killing of George Floyd last year, including Derek Chauvin who was convicted of murder and manslaughter charges in April.

According to The Hill, the multicount indictment from the US District Court for the District of Minnesota, accuses Chauvin along with Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao of violating Floyd`s constitutional rights.

All of the men were charged with failing to administer first aid to Floyd as Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes.

Watch |&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/derek-chauvin-demands-new-trial-in-george-floyd-case-382897/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The indictment announced Friday states that the offenses violated the US Code known as the "colour of law" statute, something that Democrats in Congress have sought to change through the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.

Under the George Floyd bill, which would implement sweeping national reforms to policing, "willfully" would be changed to "knowingly or recklessly," and the scope of the statute would also broaden.

Also read |<a href="George Floyd's death: Jury to hear opening arguments in Derek Chauvin trial ">&nbsp;George Floyd's death: Jury to hear opening arguments in Derek Chauvin trial&nbsp;</a>

Chauvin also was charged in a separate indictment related to an incident in which he allegedly used unreasonable force on a Minneapolis 14-year-old in September 2017, CNN reported citing a Justice Department statement on Friday.

Meanwhile, Chauvin will be sentenced on June 16. The Hennepin County District Court said that he will be sentenced at 1:30 pm (local time) on June 16, The Hill reported.

The 12 jurors found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd`s death in May 2020.

The maximum sentence for second-degree unintentional murder is imprisonment of not more than 40 years. The maximum sentence for third-degree murder is imprisonment of not more than 25 years.

The maximum sentence for second-degree manslaughter is 10 years and/or USD 20,000.US President Joe Biden later said that the verdict can be a giant step forward on the march towards justice in America.

"Today, a jury in Minnesota found former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd. The verdict is a step forward.

And while nothing can ever bring George Floyd back, this can be a giant step forward on the march towards justice in America," he said in an address to the nation.

Chauvin was the first white police officer in Minnesota to be convicted of murdering a Black person, and many in the country saw the high-profile trial as a referendum on policing in the US, according to The Hill.

A US federal grand jury on Friday indicted all four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the killing of George Floyd last year, including Derek Chauvin who was convicted of murder and manslaughter charges in April.

A US federal grand jury on Friday indicted all four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the killing of George Floyd last year, including Derek Chauvin who was convicted of murder and manslaughter charges in April. According to The Hill, the multicount indictment from the US District Court for the District of Minnesota, accuses Chauvin along with Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao of violating Floyd`s constitutional rights. All of the men were charged with failing to administer first aid to Floyd as Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes. Watch | The indictment announced Friday states that the offenses violated the US Code known as the "colour of law" statute, something that Democrats in Congress have sought to change through the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Under the George Floyd bill, which would implement sweeping national reforms to policing, "willfully" would be changed to "knowingly or recklessly," and the scope of the statute would also broaden. Also read | George Floyd's death: Jury to hear opening arguments in Derek Chauvin trial Chauvin also was charged in a separate indictment related to an incident in which he allegedly used unreasonable force on a Minneapolis 14-year-old in September 2017, CNN reported citing a Justice Department statement on Friday. Meanwhile, Chauvin will be sentenced on June 16. The Hennepin County District Court said that he will be sentenced at 1:30 pm (local time) on June 16, The Hill reported. The 12 jurors found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd`s death in May 2020. The maximum sentence for second-degree unintentional murder is imprisonment of not more than 40 years. The maximum sentence for third-degree murder is imprisonment of not more than 25 years. The maximum sentence for second-degree manslaughter is 10 years and/or USD 20,000.US President Joe Biden later said that the verdict can be a giant step forward on the march towards justice in America. "Today, a jury in Minnesota found former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd. The verdict is a step forward. And while nothing can ever bring George Floyd back, this can be a giant step forward on the march towards justice in America," he said in an address to the nation. Chauvin was the first white police officer in Minnesota to be convicted of murdering a Black person, and many in the country saw the high-profile trial as a referendum on policing in the US, according to The Hill.

US grand jury indicts 4 ex-Minneapolis police officers in George Floyd's murder

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has asked a judge for a new trial two weeks after he was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in the killing of black man George Floyd.

Derek Chauvin demands new trial in George Floyd case

20-year-old Daunte Wright who died in a police shooting on 21 April, has been laid to rest. Hundreds of mourners including relatives of George Floyd and top politicians of Minnesota attended the young black man's funeral.

Daunte Wright laid to rest after Minnesota police shooting

A medical expert testifying for the defence in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin told jurors that the manner of George Floyd's death should be classified as "undetermined" rather than "homicide."

Derek Chauvin trial: Medical expert from defence testifies before jury

The Minneapolis cop who shot Daunte Wright has said that she mistook her gun for her taser. How plausible is this version of events? What does it say about police training in the U.S.? WION's Palki Sharma tells you.

Gravitas: US cop 'mistook' gun for teaser

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as angry protests erupted in a Minneapolis suburb after a 20-year-old Black man was shot dead during a traffic stop.

Outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday night, (April 11) smoke billowed as a line of police officers fired rubber bullets and chemical agents at protesters, some of whom lobbed rocks, bags of garbage and water bottles at the police.

One of the eyewitnesses, photographer Jonathan Stengenga said it was "surreal" as he wiped tears off his face after running away from cloud of chemical irritants.

"They just shot another round of flash bangs, tear gas and pepper (spray) and bullets. Even with this mask it got it into my lungs and eyes. I had one flash bang hit right by my feet," Stengenga said in a video published on his Facebook page.

The man killed by police was identified by relatives and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Daunte Wright, 20. Walz said in a statement that he was monitoring the unrest as "our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement."

Commissioner John Harrington of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said in a live-streamed news briefing that late on Sunday a group of about 100 to 200 protesters gathered around the Brooklyn Center police headquarters and threw projectiles at the police department. The group was later dispersed.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as angry protests erupted in a Minneapolis suburb after a 20-year-old Black man was shot dead during a traffic stop. Outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday night, (April 11) smoke billowed as a line of police officers fired rubber bullets and chemical agents at protesters, some of whom lobbed rocks, bags of garbage and water bottles at the police.

Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as angry protests erupted in a Minneapolis suburb after a 20-year-old Black man was shot dead during a traffic stop. Outside of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Sunday night, (April 11) smoke billowed as a line of police officers fired rubber bullets and chemical agents at protesters, some of whom lobbed rocks, bags of garbage and water bottles at the police. One of the eyewitnesses, photographer Jonathan Stengenga said it was "surreal" as he wiped tears off his face after running away from cloud of chemical irritants. "They just shot another round of flash bangs, tear gas and pepper (spray) and bullets. Even with this mask it got it into my lungs and eyes. I had one flash bang hit right by my feet," Stengenga said in a video published on his Facebook page. The man killed by police was identified by relatives and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as Daunte Wright, 20. Walz said in a statement that he was monitoring the unrest as "our state mourns another life of a Black man taken by law enforcement." Commissioner John Harrington of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety said in a live-streamed news briefing that late on Sunday a group of about 100 to 200 protesters gathered around the Brooklyn Center police headquarters and threw projectiles at the police department. The group was later dispersed.

Tear gas and flash bangs fired in Minnesota protest after police shoot Black man

16 kilometres away from where George Floyd was killed, another Black-American has been shot dead for a 'traffic violation'. WION's Palki Sharma tells you how America's virus of racism is yet to be eradicated.

Gravitas: Black-American killed by cops in Minnesota

Massive Protests have broken out near&nbsp;the US city of Minneapolis after a policeman fatally shot a young Black man near where George Floyd was killed last year. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-army-lieutenant-sues-two-virginia-police-officers-oafter-horrifying-traffic-stop-376959">Also rea | US Army lieutenant sues two Virginia police officers after 'horrifying' traffic stop</a> 
 
The man has been identified as 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

Police in a Minneapolis suburb said&nbsp;an officer fatally shot a driver Sunday, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement

Hundreds of people gathered outside the police station in Brooklyn Center, northwest of Minneapolis. Police fired tear gas and flashbangs at the demonstrators, according to videojournalists at the scene.

The mother of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, told a crowd earlier Sunday evening that he called her to say he had been pulled over by police, local media reported.

Katie Wright said she heard officers tell her son to put his phone down, and then one of the officers ended the call. Soon after, her son's girlfriend told her he had been shot.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed that it is "investigating an officer-involved shooting incident" in Brooklyn Center.

(With inputs from agencies)

Massive Protests have broken out near the US city of Minneapolis after a policeman fatally shot a young Black man near where George Floyd was killed last year. Also rea | US Army lieutenant sues two Virginia police officers after 'horrifying' traffic stop The man has been identified as 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

Massive Protests have broken out near the US city of Minneapolis after a policeman fatally shot a young Black man near where George Floyd was killed last year. Also rea | US Army lieutenant sues two Virginia police officers after 'horrifying' traffic stop The man has been identified as 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Police in a Minneapolis suburb said an officer fatally shot a driver Sunday, leading to clashes between protesters and law enforcement Hundreds of people gathered outside the police station in Brooklyn Center, northwest of Minneapolis. Police fired tear gas and flashbangs at the demonstrators, according to videojournalists at the scene. The mother of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, told a crowd earlier Sunday evening that he called her to say he had been pulled over by police, local media reported. Katie Wright said she heard officers tell her son to put his phone down, and then one of the officers ended the call. Soon after, her son's girlfriend told her he had been shot. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed that it is "investigating an officer-involved shooting incident" in Brooklyn Center. (With inputs from agencies)

Protesters clash with police in US after Black man shot dead by cop

Protests have broken out in the US city of Minneapolis after a policeman fatally shot a 20-year-old Black man named Daunte Wright. Hundreds of protesters chanting Daunte Wright's name gathered late on Sunday outside the police headquarters in Brooklyn Center,

Protests near Minneapolis after Police shoot 20-year-old man

George Floyd’s girlfriend told the Derek Chauvin murder trial that the couple shared addiction to opioid painkillers that they struggled to overcome in the weeks before his death.

George Floyd Murder Trial Day 3: Floyd’s girlfriend details their opioid addiction

During the third day at the trial of the former officer Derek Chauvin, new footage from inside a convenience store in Minneapolis was played and that's why George Floyd was taken into custody by the police.

George Floyd Murder Trial Day 3: New footage from inside a convenience store played

A cashier who was one of the last people to speak with George Floyd before his deadly arrest last May testified at Derek Chauvin's murder trial in Minneapolis on Wednesday that Floyd appeared to be high on drugs but was able to make friendly conversation.&nbsp;

Chauvin, who is white, was fired by the city's police department the day after he was captured on video with his knee on the neck of Floyd, a Black man in handcuffs. He has pled not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges, and a central dispute in the case is his lawyers' contention that Floyd's death, which was ruled a homicide, was instead a drug overdose.&nbsp;

The jury watched video on Wednesday that showed a cheerful-looking Floyd in his final minutes inside a grocery store before he ended up below Chauvin on the road outside, a scene that the cashier, Christopher Martin, told the jury he watched in disbelief.&nbsp;

Several other eyewitnesses, one a child of nine, have spent the last two days describing to the jury the shock of watching Floyd's struggle beneath Chauvin as bystanders screamed at police that Floyd was falling unconscious. Video footage of the arrest on May 25, 2020, sparked global protests decrying police brutality against Black people. Christopher Martin, eyewitness and Cup Foods cashier, was the one who accepted the $20 bill that triggered everything that followed.&nbsp;

"I thought that George didn't really know it was a fake bill," Martin, 19, told the jury. He considered letting Cup Foods just dock it from his wages, but ended up telling his manager and a few minutes later, police were arresting Floyd on suspicion of passing a counterfeit.&nbsp;

Silent security-camera video played for the jury shows Floyd dressed in a black tank top approaching Cup Food's counter with a banana in hand, smiling and making cheerful conversation and putting his arm around a woman. Floyd appears to be filled with energy and constantly in motion, at one point almost dancing on the spot, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.&nbsp;

Martin, 19, told the jury that he made conversation with Floyd, asking him if he played baseball. Floyd seemed to take time to find his words but replied that he played football, Martin said.&nbsp;

"He seemed very friendly, approachable, he was talkative, he seemed to be having just an average Memorial Day, just living his life," Martin recalled. "But he did seem high."&nbsp;

Although the county medical examiner ruled Floyd's death a homicide resulting from the police restraint, fentanyl and methamphetamine was found in Floyd's blood at autopsy and Chauvin's lawyers argue the death was really a drug overdose.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

A cashier who was one of the last people to speak with George Floyd before his deadly arrest last May testified at Derek Chauvin's murder trial in Minneapolis on Wednesday that Floyd appeared to be high on drugs but was able to make friendly conversation.

A cashier who was one of the last people to speak with George Floyd before his deadly arrest last May testified at Derek Chauvin's murder trial in Minneapolis on Wednesday that Floyd appeared to be high on drugs but was able to make friendly conversation. Chauvin, who is white, was fired by the city's police department the day after he was captured on video with his knee on the neck of Floyd, a Black man in handcuffs. He has pled not guilty to murder and manslaughter charges, and a central dispute in the case is his lawyers' contention that Floyd's death, which was ruled a homicide, was instead a drug overdose. The jury watched video on Wednesday that showed a cheerful-looking Floyd in his final minutes inside a grocery store before he ended up below Chauvin on the road outside, a scene that the cashier, Christopher Martin, told the jury he watched in disbelief. Several other eyewitnesses, one a child of nine, have spent the last two days describing to the jury the shock of watching Floyd's struggle beneath Chauvin as bystanders screamed at police that Floyd was falling unconscious. Video footage of the arrest on May 25, 2020, sparked global protests decrying police brutality against Black people. Christopher Martin, eyewitness and Cup Foods cashier, was the one who accepted the $20 bill that triggered everything that followed. "I thought that George didn't really know it was a fake bill," Martin, 19, told the jury. He considered letting Cup Foods just dock it from his wages, but ended up telling his manager and a few minutes later, police were arresting Floyd on suspicion of passing a counterfeit. Silent security-camera video played for the jury shows Floyd dressed in a black tank top approaching Cup Food's counter with a banana in hand, smiling and making cheerful conversation and putting his arm around a woman. Floyd appears to be filled with energy and constantly in motion, at one point almost dancing on the spot, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. Martin, 19, told the jury that he made conversation with Floyd, asking him if he played baseball. Floyd seemed to take time to find his words but replied that he played football, Martin said. "He seemed very friendly, approachable, he was talkative, he seemed to be having just an average Memorial Day, just living his life," Martin recalled. "But he did seem high." Although the county medical examiner ruled Floyd's death a homicide resulting from the police restraint, fentanyl and methamphetamine was found in Floyd's blood at autopsy and Chauvin's lawyers argue the death was really a drug overdose. (With inputs from agencies)

Minneapolis cashier tells jury, Floyd appeared chatty, 'high' before arrest 

Day 2 of George Floyd'S murder trial was marked by the emotional testimonies of eyewitnesses. The onlookers claimed that they grew increasingly angry as they beg Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin to take his knees off George Floyd's neck however he refused to listen.

George Floyd Murder Trial Day 2: Emotionally jarring testimony by underage eyewitness

The first day in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of killing George Floyd, featured an intense series of opening arguments, numerous photographs, videos of the killing, and testimony from three witnesses.

George Floyd Murder Trial: Prosecutor says Chauvin betrayed his oath

The sacred intersection where George Floyd died beneath the knee of a police officer has seen such an increase in violence that food delivery drivers are afraid to venture there. There have been gunbattles, with bloodied shooting victims dragged to ambulances because of barricades keeping the police and emergency vehicles away.

“Having no police: This is the experiment right here,” said P.J. Hill, a leader of Worldwide Outreach for Christ, a church that has been on that corner in Minneapolis for almost 40 years. “This is their one-block experiment.”

Residents all over town still complain of officers using excessive force, like during a recent confrontation in which a white officer appeared to wind up and punch a Black teenager. And officers accuse some community members of antagonizing them, like in a recent dispute over a homeless encampment that erupted into a melee with punches and pepper spray.

Ten months ago, Minneapolis, and the country, seemed to coalesce around the belief that policing needed an overhaul after gruesome video footage surfaced of the last moments of Floyd’s life. Now, with the murder trial of the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck scheduled to begin Monday, the struggle over what to overhaul and how to do it has left Minneapolis at war with itself over public safety and the role of the police.

A pledge by most City Council members in June to defund and dismantle the Police Department and create a new system of public safety met fierce resistance. It has since given way to a grab bag of efforts that have yet to prove their effectiveness and have left the city fractured.

Looming over everything is a palpable unease over what the 12 jurors will decide in the trial of Derek Chauvin, who is facing second- and third-degree murder charges, as well as manslaughter, after being captured on video kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes in May.

Many worry that an acquittal could set back the work that has been done to reform public safety and to attempt healing, and put the city right back where it was last summer with buildings ablaze and the streets roiling with anger.

“People don’t have much faith that he’s going to be convicted,” said pastor Brian Herron of Zion Baptist Church in the neighborhood Near North, the historic heart of Black Minneapolis. “I think there’s hope that he is, but we have seen this movie before. We’ve watched this movie over and over and over again. We can recite the lines.”

Cities all across America last year faced a surge in violence, fueled in part by the economic despair and alienation brought on by the pandemic, criminologists said. Minneapolis was no exception: It saw a 25% increase in homicides, rapes, robberies and assaults.

But home in on the four neighborhoods surrounding George Floyd Square, the name given to the corner where Floyd died, and the story is far bleaker and deadlier. In those areas — Powderhorn Park, Central, Bryant and Bancroft — violent crime shot up by 66% last year, according to statistics from the Police Department. And this year, so far, little has changed.

The area has become something of an autonomous zone, with barriers and signs calling it “the free state of George Floyd.” Police have stayed away for almost a year to avoid inflaming tensions.

Residents and city leaders have tussled over the role that the Police Department’s depleted ranks have played in the violence plaguing the entire city. Around 200 officers have left the force, some temporarily, over the past year, with many taking leave for post-traumatic stress disorder. The City Charter allows for 888 officers, but there are currently 648 on active duty, city officials said.

Supporters of defunding the police have applauded steps to redirect $8 million from the Police Department’s budget, which now sits at about $170 million. Some of those funds have gone to the Office of Violence Prevention, which has seen its budget grow more than fourfold over the past year to about $7 million.

With that money, the office is expanding programs that offer social services, said Sasha Cotton, its director. The office is also developing a program modeled after Cure Violence, a national violence-intervention initiative. The city’s version will consist of six teams of about 15 people, some former gang members, working in communities to settle any simmering disputes that may lead to violence.

The growth in resources won’t make the work any simpler, Cotton said. That’s because the challenges have grown, too: the surge in violence, the pandemic-induced economic hardship, the unease over the trial.

“We’re under a microscope and at an epicenter that no city wants to be in,” she said. “I think that from these challenges there is real growth happening, and that we will come out of it better on the other side. But it’s sort of like that awkward teenage space that people have to go through.”

Pastor Curtis Farrar, who leads Worldwide Outreach for Christ at George Floyd Square, said gang violence had long been a problem in the area, but it had been improving before Floyd was killed and the police pulled back. Now the sounds of gunshots are a constant, and recently workers he has hired to change his church’s windows have refused to come to the area because they feel it is too dangerous.

In many ways, the future of the intersection could turn on the outcome of the trial. For too long, he said, the community has watched police officers kill and get away with it.

“I don’t know if anybody at this point knows how it’s going to be solved unless they see justice as really being blind,” he said. “If they don’t, we’re going to have some serious problems in this community.”

Many officers worry about further unrest, said Sgt. Sherral Schmidt, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis. Officers began leaving the department in droves after the uprising last summer, she said, and morale has only gotten worse. With a staffing shortage, officers have found themselves bouncing from call to call, with little opportunity to engage with the community, she said. Even the members of the community engagement team have been reassigned to different jobs to help make up for the patrol shortage, she said.

Officers are expected to have to work 12-hour shifts once the trial reaches closing arguments, Schmidt added.

“The biggest thing for our cops right now is they feel no support,” she said. “So every day, they come in and it’s like, ‘Oh, what are we going to be scrutinized for today?’”

Some longtime civil rights activists have been critical of the police, but they have also criticized the way that supporters of the defund movement have tried to effect change. Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer, said the defund movement is nothing more than “catchy slogans and catchphrases.” She said that last summer she warned Jeremiah Ellison, a City Council member supporting efforts to dismantle the Police Department, that it would lead to only chaos.

“You’re going to turn Minneapolis into the wild, Wild West,” she recalled telling him.

But Ellison said the uptick in violence in the city began long before any money was redirected from the police, and he credited council members for investing in alternatives to policing.

“To do what we’ve done in 10 months,” he said, “as far as city government is concerned, that’s kind of moving at light speed.”

In June, nine council members, a veto-proof majority, stood on a stage in a park behind large block letters that read “Defund Police” and pledged to dismantle the Police Department.

“They stood on a stage in Powderhorn Park in front of the entire nation with a big sign, with 1-million-point font saying, ‘defund the police,’” said Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, calling it an ill-conceived move. He could not support that position, he added, because he did not agree with it and “it wasn’t going to be delivered.”

Many of those members have since backtracked. They proposed a measure last year to change the City Charter to create a Public Safety Department — of which the police would be just one part — that they say would promote a more holistic approach to public safety. That effort has failed, but a new proposal is on track to appear on the ballot this fall. Activists are also gathering signatures to get a measure on the ballot that would perform a similar action.

Though he has disagreed with most council members, Frey has acknowledged the urgency to do something.

“There’s clearly a lot of passion and pain and frustration,” he said.

He has favored working with the police chief, Medaria Arradondo, to establish policy reforms — many of which his critics have said are too incremental.

A number of new policies on the use of force has been put into effect, including requiring officers to intervene when a fellow officer is using impermissible force and requiring greater scrutiny when force is used against someone in handcuffs.

For many residents, though, the policy changes have done nothing to upend what they see as an underlying culture of aggression and disrespect. D.A. Bullock, an activist and a filmmaker who lives in North Minneapolis, recalled recently going to a scene where the police had just shot someone and having officers aggressively tell him to get back.

“I’ve seen a number of interactions between police and residents since George Floyd was murdered, and I can’t, from a practical standpoint, I can’t identify anything that they’re doing differently,” Bullock said. “They still roll up, and they roll up in force. They’re still very much aggressive. I haven’t seen any deescalation tactics.”

Still, if the city feels tense over the continued debate about policing and public safety, there are small signs of racial healing.

One of them is on display every Sunday at Herron’s church, which is predominantly Black. More white faces have been appearing in the pews, he said. It gives Herron hope that even as the city feels these days as if it is under siege — with National Guard troops on the streets, and concrete-and-wire barricades fortifying government buildings downtown — some people, at least, are trying to come together.

“If you look physically, it doesn’t look like much has changed,” he said. “But if you look with spiritual eyes, you see a conversation. You see a movement toward each other, instead of away from each other.”

He continued, “It’s being done organically. We’re not on purpose trying to be a multicultural church. It’s what’s in the atmosphere now.”

The sacred intersection where George Floyd died beneath the knee of a police officer has seen such an increase in violence that food delivery drivers are afraid to venture there.

The sacred intersection where George Floyd died beneath the knee of a police officer has seen such an increase in violence that food delivery drivers are afraid to venture there. There have been gunbattles, with bloodied shooting victims dragged to ambulances because of barricades keeping the police and emergency vehicles away. “Having no police: This is the experiment right here,” said P.J. Hill, a leader of Worldwide Outreach for Christ, a church that has been on that corner in Minneapolis for almost 40 years. “This is their one-block experiment.” Residents all over town still complain of officers using excessive force, like during a recent confrontation in which a white officer appeared to wind up and punch a Black teenager. And officers accuse some community members of antagonizing them, like in a recent dispute over a homeless encampment that erupted into a melee with punches and pepper spray. Ten months ago, Minneapolis, and the country, seemed to coalesce around the belief that policing needed an overhaul after gruesome video footage surfaced of the last moments of Floyd’s life. Now, with the murder trial of the officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck scheduled to begin Monday, the struggle over what to overhaul and how to do it has left Minneapolis at war with itself over public safety and the role of the police. A pledge by most City Council members in June to defund and dismantle the Police Department and create a new system of public safety met fierce resistance. It has since given way to a grab bag of efforts that have yet to prove their effectiveness and have left the city fractured. Looming over everything is a palpable unease over what the 12 jurors will decide in the trial of Derek Chauvin, who is facing second- and third-degree murder charges, as well as manslaughter, after being captured on video kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes in May. Many worry that an acquittal could set back the work that has been done to reform public safety and to attempt healing, and put the city right back where it was last summer with buildings ablaze and the streets roiling with anger. “People don’t have much faith that he’s going to be convicted,” said pastor Brian Herron of Zion Baptist Church in the neighborhood Near North, the historic heart of Black Minneapolis. “I think there’s hope that he is, but we have seen this movie before. We’ve watched this movie over and over and over again. We can recite the lines.” Cities all across America last year faced a surge in violence, fueled in part by the economic despair and alienation brought on by the pandemic, criminologists said. Minneapolis was no exception: It saw a 25% increase in homicides, rapes, robberies and assaults. But home in on the four neighborhoods surrounding George Floyd Square, the name given to the corner where Floyd died, and the story is far bleaker and deadlier. In those areas — Powderhorn Park, Central, Bryant and Bancroft — violent crime shot up by 66% last year, according to statistics from the Police Department. And this year, so far, little has changed. The area has become something of an autonomous zone, with barriers and signs calling it “the free state of George Floyd.” Police have stayed away for almost a year to avoid inflaming tensions. Residents and city leaders have tussled over the role that the Police Department’s depleted ranks have played in the violence plaguing the entire city. Around 200 officers have left the force, some temporarily, over the past year, with many taking leave for post-traumatic stress disorder. The City Charter allows for 888 officers, but there are currently 648 on active duty, city officials said. Supporters of defunding the police have applauded steps to redirect $8 million from the Police Department’s budget, which now sits at about $170 million. Some of those funds have gone to the Office of Violence Prevention, which has seen its budget grow more than fourfold over the past year to about $7 million. With that money, the office is expanding programs that offer social services, said Sasha Cotton, its director. The office is also developing a program modeled after Cure Violence, a national violence-intervention initiative. The city’s version will consist of six teams of about 15 people, some former gang members, working in communities to settle any simmering disputes that may lead to violence. The growth in resources won’t make the work any simpler, Cotton said. That’s because the challenges have grown, too: the surge in violence, the pandemic-induced economic hardship, the unease over the trial. “We’re under a microscope and at an epicenter that no city wants to be in,” she said. “I think that from these challenges there is real growth happening, and that we will come out of it better on the other side. But it’s sort of like that awkward teenage space that people have to go through.” Pastor Curtis Farrar, who leads Worldwide Outreach for Christ at George Floyd Square, said gang violence had long been a problem in the area, but it had been improving before Floyd was killed and the police pulled back. Now the sounds of gunshots are a constant, and recently workers he has hired to change his church’s windows have refused to come to the area because they feel it is too dangerous. In many ways, the future of the intersection could turn on the outcome of the trial. For too long, he said, the community has watched police officers kill and get away with it. “I don’t know if anybody at this point knows how it’s going to be solved unless they see justice as really being blind,” he said. “If they don’t, we’re going to have some serious problems in this community.” Many officers worry about further unrest, said Sgt. Sherral Schmidt, president of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis. Officers began leaving the department in droves after the uprising last summer, she said, and morale has only gotten worse. With a staffing shortage, officers have found themselves bouncing from call to call, with little opportunity to engage with the community, she said. Even the members of the community engagement team have been reassigned to different jobs to help make up for the patrol shortage, she said. Officers are expected to have to work 12-hour shifts once the trial reaches closing arguments, Schmidt added. “The biggest thing for our cops right now is they feel no support,” she said. “So every day, they come in and it’s like, ‘Oh, what are we going to be scrutinized for today?’” Some longtime civil rights activists have been critical of the police, but they have also criticized the way that supporters of the defund movement have tried to effect change. Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights lawyer, said the defund movement is nothing more than “catchy slogans and catchphrases.” She said that last summer she warned Jeremiah Ellison, a City Council member supporting efforts to dismantle the Police Department, that it would lead to only chaos. “You’re going to turn Minneapolis into the wild, Wild West,” she recalled telling him. But Ellison said the uptick in violence in the city began long before any money was redirected from the police, and he credited council members for investing in alternatives to policing. “To do what we’ve done in 10 months,” he said, “as far as city government is concerned, that’s kind of moving at light speed.” In June, nine council members, a veto-proof majority, stood on a stage in a park behind large block letters that read “Defund Police” and pledged to dismantle the Police Department. “They stood on a stage in Powderhorn Park in front of the entire nation with a big sign, with 1-million-point font saying, ‘defund the police,’” said Jacob Frey, the mayor of Minneapolis, calling it an ill-conceived move. He could not support that position, he added, because he did not agree with it and “it wasn’t going to be delivered.” Many of those members have since backtracked. They proposed a measure last year to change the City Charter to create a Public Safety Department — of which the police would be just one part — that they say would promote a more holistic approach to public safety. That effort has failed, but a new proposal is on track to appear on the ballot this fall. Activists are also gathering signatures to get a measure on the ballot that would perform a similar action. Though he has disagreed with most council members, Frey has acknowledged the urgency to do something. “There’s clearly a lot of passion and pain and frustration,” he said. He has favored working with the police chief, Medaria Arradondo, to establish policy reforms — many of which his critics have said are too incremental. A number of new policies on the use of force has been put into effect, including requiring officers to intervene when a fellow officer is using impermissible force and requiring greater scrutiny when force is used against someone in handcuffs. For many residents, though, the policy changes have done nothing to upend what they see as an underlying culture of aggression and disrespect. D.A. Bullock, an activist and a filmmaker who lives in North Minneapolis, recalled recently going to a scene where the police had just shot someone and having officers aggressively tell him to get back. “I’ve seen a number of interactions between police and residents since George Floyd was murdered, and I can’t, from a practical standpoint, I can’t identify anything that they’re doing differently,” Bullock said. “They still roll up, and they roll up in force. They’re still very much aggressive. I haven’t seen any deescalation tactics.” Still, if the city feels tense over the continued debate about policing and public safety, there are small signs of racial healing. One of them is on display every Sunday at Herron’s church, which is predominantly Black. More white faces have been appearing in the pews, he said. It gives Herron hope that even as the city feels these days as if it is under siege — with National Guard troops on the streets, and concrete-and-wire barricades fortifying government buildings downtown — some people, at least, are trying to come together. “If you look physically, it doesn’t look like much has changed,” he said. “But if you look with spiritual eyes, you see a conversation. You see a movement toward each other, instead of away from each other.” He continued, “It’s being done organically. We’re not on purpose trying to be a multicultural church. It’s what’s in the atmosphere now.”

Ten months after Floyd’s death, Minneapolis residents are at war over policing

Opening arguments begin on Monday in the trial of the white police officer accused of killing George Floyd, a Black man whose death was captured on video and touched off protests against racial injustice across the United States and around the world.

Derek Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department, faces murder and manslaughter charges for his role in the May 25, 2020 death of the 46-year-old Floyd.

Chauvin, 44, who was fired from the police force along with three other officers, could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge -- second-degree murder.

Opening arguments are to begin at 9:00 am Central time (1400 GMT) in a heavily guarded Minneapolis courtroom for a trial expected to last about a month.

Fifteen jurors have been selected for the high-profile case.

Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill is expected to drop one juror on Monday and proceed with 12 and two alternates.

The panel seated after two weeks of jury selection is racially mixed: six white women, three Black men, three white men, two mixed race women and one Black woman.

Police officers are rarely convicted in the United States when charges are brought against them and the trial is being closely watched around the world.

A conviction on any of the charges -- second-degree murder, third-degree murder or manslaughter -- will require the jury to return a unanimous verdict.

Floyd's cause of death is expected to be the central issue in the trial and a key piece of evidence is likely to be the viral video that triggered a summer of anti-racism protests.

Chauvin was seen on the bystander video kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes while arresting him for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill.

While lying with his face in the street, the handcuffed Floyd complains that he cannot breathe and calls out for his mother.

Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, is expected to argue that the officer was following police procedure and claim that Floyd death's was due to an overdose of the drug fentanyl and underlying health conditions.

- 'Just verdict' -

The public has been banned from attending the trial because of the Covid-19 pandemic but it is being livestreamed.

The identities of the jurors will not be revealed until after the trial but some details are known.

They range in age from their 20s to their 60s and include a chemist, a social worker, an accountant and a nurse. Two are immigrants to the United States.

One is a grandmother, one is recently married and one is a single mother of two teenage boys.

The jury selection process was complicated by the intensive pre-trial publicity surrounding the case and all but one of the jurors said they had seen at least some of the arrest video.

Several potential jurors were excused after telling the judge they could not be fair or impartial or presume Chauvin to be innocent as the law requires them to do.

Others expressed concern for their safety.

Nelson, Chauvin's attorney, asked to have the trial delayed and moved out of Minneapolis because of the March 12 announcement that the city had reached a $27 million "wrongful death" settlement with the Floyd family.

Judge Cahill rejected the demand, saying: "I don't think that there's any place in the state of Minnesota that has not been subjected to extreme amounts of publicity on this case."

Three other former police officers -- Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng -- also face charges in connection with Floyd's death.

They are to be tried separately later in the year.

Ben Crump, a lawyer for the Floyd family, said he hoped the jury would deliver a "just verdict."&nbsp;

"George Floyd had more witnesses to his death than any other person ever -- white or Black," Crump said. "We all saw the same thing -- the indisputable and unjustified torture and murder by a police officer of a Black man who was handcuffed, restrained and posed no harm."

Opening arguments begin on Monday in the trial of the white police officer accused of killing George Floyd, a Black man whose death was captured on video and touched off protests against racial injustice across the United States and around the world.

Opening arguments begin on Monday in the trial of the white police officer accused of killing George Floyd, a Black man whose death was captured on video and touched off protests against racial injustice across the United States and around the world. Derek Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department, faces murder and manslaughter charges for his role in the May 25, 2020 death of the 46-year-old Floyd. Chauvin, 44, who was fired from the police force along with three other officers, could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge -- second-degree murder. Opening arguments are to begin at 9:00 am Central time (1400 GMT) in a heavily guarded Minneapolis courtroom for a trial expected to last about a month. Fifteen jurors have been selected for the high-profile case. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill is expected to drop one juror on Monday and proceed with 12 and two alternates. The panel seated after two weeks of jury selection is racially mixed: six white women, three Black men, three white men, two mixed race women and one Black woman. Police officers are rarely convicted in the United States when charges are brought against them and the trial is being closely watched around the world. A conviction on any of the charges -- second-degree murder, third-degree murder or manslaughter -- will require the jury to return a unanimous verdict. Floyd's cause of death is expected to be the central issue in the trial and a key piece of evidence is likely to be the viral video that triggered a summer of anti-racism protests. Chauvin was seen on the bystander video kneeling on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes while arresting him for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill. While lying with his face in the street, the handcuffed Floyd complains that he cannot breathe and calls out for his mother. Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, is expected to argue that the officer was following police procedure and claim that Floyd death's was due to an overdose of the drug fentanyl and underlying health conditions. - 'Just verdict' - The public has been banned from attending the trial because of the Covid-19 pandemic but it is being livestreamed. The identities of the jurors will not be revealed until after the trial but some details are known. They range in age from their 20s to their 60s and include a chemist, a social worker, an accountant and a nurse. Two are immigrants to the United States. One is a grandmother, one is recently married and one is a single mother of two teenage boys. The jury selection process was complicated by the intensive pre-trial publicity surrounding the case and all but one of the jurors said they had seen at least some of the arrest video. Several potential jurors were excused after telling the judge they could not be fair or impartial or presume Chauvin to be innocent as the law requires them to do. Others expressed concern for their safety. Nelson, Chauvin's attorney, asked to have the trial delayed and moved out of Minneapolis because of the March 12 announcement that the city had reached a $27 million "wrongful death" settlement with the Floyd family. Judge Cahill rejected the demand, saying: "I don't think that there's any place in the state of Minnesota that has not been subjected to extreme amounts of publicity on this case." Three other former police officers -- Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng -- also face charges in connection with Floyd's death. They are to be tried separately later in the year. Ben Crump, a lawyer for the Floyd family, said he hoped the jury would deliver a "just verdict." "George Floyd had more witnesses to his death than any other person ever -- white or Black," Crump said. "We all saw the same thing -- the indisputable and unjustified torture and murder by a police officer of a Black man who was handcuffed, restrained and posed no harm."

Opening arguments set to begin in George Floyd murder trial

The Minneapolis Police Department has opened an internal affairs investigation after a Black teenager was punched by an officer who appeared to be white, the mayor and the police chief said Thursday.

The announcement came one day after a partial video of the episode recorded by an eyewitness had drawn widespread attention and touched off protests by Black community members, who called for the officer to be fired.

The protests were set against the backdrop of the trial of Derek Chauvin, one of four former Minneapolis police officers who have been charged in the killing of George Floyd in May. Chauvin pinned Floyd’s neck to the ground for more than nine minutes as Floyd, a Black man, told officers that he couldn’t breathe.

“De-escalating is paramount in the work that our officers do,” Medaria Arradondo, the city’s police chief, said during a news conference Thursday.

The punch occurred Wednesday afternoon after a “violent felony carjacking” in the suburb of New Hope and a police chase through Robbinsdale that ended in north Minneapolis, authorities said.

Minneapolis police officers had been helping their suburban counterparts, who had stopped a suspect in the carjacking, when a group of residents approached and protested that the officers had the wrong person in custody, the eyewitness video showed. The suspect, another Black teenager, said he had been scared when Robbinsdale police officers led him toward the back seat of a patrol car.

Tensions between the residents and the officers began to escalate, and a Minneapolis police officer punched another Black teenager at the scene during a skirmish, the video showed. The person who recorded the video had been walking away from scene when the exchange happened, so it was not immediately clear what had led the officer to throw the punch.

The teenager hit by the officer was taken into custody, according to the police chief, who said he didn’t know whether the young man had played a role in the carjacking. The police did not provide further details about whether the teenager had been charged or the nature of his injuries. The police did not release the names of the teenager who had been punched or the officer who punched him.

Civil rights groups criticized the use of force by the officer.

“The MPD is out of control,” Sonja Muus, a member of the Racial Justice Network, said in a statement Thursday. “They don’t care if they are being filmed or if their body cameras are on. They know they can act with impunity.”

At the news conference Thursday, Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis said that he could not comment on the specifics of the case without potentially compromising the internal affairs investigation.

The other teenager, whom the police described as the carjacking suspect, was also taken into custody, Arradondo said.

The chief said he had not made a decision on whether to release body camera footage from officers at the scene and urged the public to let the Police Department conduct a thorough investigation. He said he was aware of public criticism of the department but asked residents to allow officers to do their jobs.

“While there may be distrust or a sentiment of concern,” the chief said, “we have to respond. We’re first responders.”

Asked if a punch was an authorized police technique, Arradondo said the law gives officers broad discretion over use of force.

“Have there been times, absolutely, where that’s justified?” he said. “For sure.”

The Minneapolis Police Department has opened an internal affairs investigation after a Black teenager was punched by an officer who appeared to be white, the mayor and the police chief said Thursday.

The Minneapolis Police Department has opened an internal affairs investigation after a Black teenager was punched by an officer who appeared to be white, the mayor and the police chief said Thursday. The announcement came one day after a partial video of the episode recorded by an eyewitness had drawn widespread attention and touched off protests by Black community members, who called for the officer to be fired. The protests were set against the backdrop of the trial of Derek Chauvin, one of four former Minneapolis police officers who have been charged in the killing of George Floyd in May. Chauvin pinned Floyd’s neck to the ground for more than nine minutes as Floyd, a Black man, told officers that he couldn’t breathe. “De-escalating is paramount in the work that our officers do,” Medaria Arradondo, the city’s police chief, said during a news conference Thursday. The punch occurred Wednesday afternoon after a “violent felony carjacking” in the suburb of New Hope and a police chase through Robbinsdale that ended in north Minneapolis, authorities said. Minneapolis police officers had been helping their suburban counterparts, who had stopped a suspect in the carjacking, when a group of residents approached and protested that the officers had the wrong person in custody, the eyewitness video showed. The suspect, another Black teenager, said he had been scared when Robbinsdale police officers led him toward the back seat of a patrol car. Tensions between the residents and the officers began to escalate, and a Minneapolis police officer punched another Black teenager at the scene during a skirmish, the video showed. The person who recorded the video had been walking away from scene when the exchange happened, so it was not immediately clear what had led the officer to throw the punch. The teenager hit by the officer was taken into custody, according to the police chief, who said he didn’t know whether the young man had played a role in the carjacking. The police did not provide further details about whether the teenager had been charged or the nature of his injuries. The police did not release the names of the teenager who had been punched or the officer who punched him. Civil rights groups criticized the use of force by the officer. “The MPD is out of control,” Sonja Muus, a member of the Racial Justice Network, said in a statement Thursday. “They don’t care if they are being filmed or if their body cameras are on. They know they can act with impunity.” At the news conference Thursday, Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis said that he could not comment on the specifics of the case without potentially compromising the internal affairs investigation. The other teenager, whom the police described as the carjacking suspect, was also taken into custody, Arradondo said. The chief said he had not made a decision on whether to release body camera footage from officers at the scene and urged the public to let the Police Department conduct a thorough investigation. He said he was aware of public criticism of the department but asked residents to allow officers to do their jobs. “While there may be distrust or a sentiment of concern,” the chief said, “we have to respond. We’re first responders.” Asked if a punch was an authorized police technique, Arradondo said the law gives officers broad discretion over use of force. “Have there been times, absolutely, where that’s justified?” he said. “For sure.”

Minneapolis police investigate punching of a black teenager by an officer

minneapolis

Minneapolis, News on Minneapolis, stories on Minneapolis, articles on Minneapolis, Minneapolis stories at Wion, Minneapolis news, Minneapolis latest news