A Minneapolis jury is hearing closing arguments today in the murder trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who killed George Floyd last May by kneeling on his neck for over nine minutes. Jurors will be sequestered until they reach a unanimous verdict.
This comes as demonstrations continued over the weekend in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center over the police killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright. On Friday, police arrested over 100 people at protests. Officers also rounded up journalists, forced them onto their stomachs and photographed their faces and press credentials. Others were shot with chemical sprays and other so-called less lethal weapons.CNN producer Carolyn Sung was thrown to the ground, zip-tied and arrested by a trooper who yelled, “Do you speak English?” — even though she repeatedly identified herself as a journalist. Sung is Asian American. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday, barring state law enforcement officials from attacking or arresting journalists covering the protests. The order does not apply to local law enforcement or National Guard officers.
The Minneapolis protests came as The New York Times reported more than three people a day have died at the hands of law enforcement since Derek Chauvin’s trial began.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Merrick Garland has reversed a Trump-era Justice Department rule limiting the use of federal consent decrees to address abuses by local police departments.