Minneapolis: The murder of George Floyd The crackdown at the hands of the Minneapolis police, and the furious protests that followed around the world in response, looked to many observers like the necessary catalyst for a nationwide reckoning on racism in policing.
For more than nine minutes, a white officer pressed his knee to the neck of Floyd, a black man who gasped and said, “I can’t breathe,” echoing Eric Garner’s last words in 2014. The video footage of Floyd’s May 25, 2020, killing was so harrowing to watch that calls for change came from across the country.
But amid the deadly coronavirus pandemic, economic uncertainty and a divisive US presidential election, 2020 ended without the kind of major police reforms many had hoped for, and others feared. Then, 2021 and 2022 also failed to give much progress.
Now, three years after Floyd’s murderSupporters of federal actions — such as banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants, and replacing so-called qualified immunity protections for law enforcement — are still waiting for signs of change.
“When people casually, and I think very often, say that there is some kind of racial calculation that we are in the middle of, I don’t see any evidence of that,” Democratic U.S. Rep. of Massachusetts. Ayanna Pressley said during a recent press conference convened by the Black Lives Matter Collective.
To be clear, racial justice activists and their champions in elected office have not slowed down. but was beaten to death tyre nichols The handout of Memphis police officers in early January underscored just how long it is taking to achieve meaningful change.
“I don’t play with words like ‘calculate,'” Pressley said. “It has to be something of epic proportions. And we certainly haven’t seen a response of lynching, suffocation, brutality, (and) killing of black lives.”
From 2020, what happened in Minneapolis?
Shortly after Floyd’s killing, Minneapolis adopted a number of changes, including a ban on chokeholds and neck restraints and a requirement that police refrain from using undue force to fellow officers. Minnesota lawmakers approved statewide police accountability packages in 2020 and 2021, as well as tougher restrictions on no-knock warrants this month.
The city is still awaiting the results of a federal investigation into whether its police engaged in a “pattern or practice” of unconstitutional or illegal policing. A similar investigation by the state human rights department called a “court-enforceable settlement agreement” in March to reform policing in the city.
The federal investigation could lead to a similar but separate agreement with the city called a consent decree. Police in many other cities already operate under such oversight for civil rights violations.
Activists say Minneapolis has begun to make significant changes, but the work needed to transform policing must continue.
There was also an immediate cry to defund the police – and instead fund public housing, infrastructure and mental health services. But a ballot measure that had its roots in that movement failed, even in some heavily black areas.
An AP review of police funding found some municipalities elsewhere made modest cuts that fell far short of what activists called for.
What’s happening in Minneapolis this week?
Minneapolis activists plan to mark the anniversary with a candlelight vigil Thursday night in George Floyd Square, the corner where Floyd died. A celebration on Saturday in the Square will celebrate the change in Minneapolis.
What happened to the officers?
Derek Chauvin, the white officer who killed Floyd, and three other officers who failed to stop Chauvin at the scene all remain in jail. Chauvin was sentenced in state court to 22 1/2 years for second-degree murder. Two of the three other officers pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting manslaughter and received shorter terms, while the third officer was convicted of that count by a judge and awaits sentencing.
Chauvin also pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge, admitting that his kneeling on Floyd’s neck led to his death. He received a concurrent sentence of 21 years in that case. Three others were also convicted of violating Floyd’s rights and received lesser sentences.
What happened after the protest?
Around the world, protests against racial violence and police brutality erupted after Floyd’s killing, rekindling the Black Lives Matter movement. Videos circulated on social media of US police using less lethal weapons such as tear gas and rubber bullets, fueling demands for accountability. That accountability has so far largely come in the form of civilian settlements.
New York City found that 146 officers committed misconduct at the protests, which involved excessive force and violence, such as one officer driving a car into protesters. Independent reviews in Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Los Angeles also found that those departments mishandled their responses.
A handful of officers were fired in some cities. Some faced criminal charges: In Austin, Texas, 19 officers were indicted by a grand jury. But some have been convicted.
Minneapolis has agreed to millions of dollars in settlements with people who alleged they were victims of excessive police force during unrest following Floyd’s killing, which included the burning of a police station. But some officials faced disciplinary action.
What is happening at the federal level?
In 2020, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a piece of federal legislation, showed some signs of promise. It would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, such as those that enabled Louisville police to kill Breonna Taylor. It will also create a database listing officers who were disciplined for gross misconduct, among other measures.
The following year, the House passed it but the Senate failed to reach consensus.
Last year, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that extended key elements of the bill to federal law enforcement. On Thursday, Biden renewed his call for Congress to act to bring about “real and lasting change at the state and local levels.”
“I urge Congress to enact meaningful police reform and send it to my desk. I will sign it,” he said in a statement. “I will continue to do everything in my power to fight for police accountability in Congress, and I stand ready to work with Republicans and Democrats alike on real solutions.”
Meanwhile, Pressley, a Massachusetts congresswoman, is promoting the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, a measure she has re-introduced every year since 2020.
What about the Floyd family?
Over the past three years, members of George Floyd’s family have appeared at rallies and spoken out against police violence. Within days of his brother’s death, Philonise Floyd Testified at congressional hearings about police reform.
While relatives and reform advocates urge changes to the law, Gianna Floyd, George Floyd’s youngest daughter, visits Biden at the White House in 2021. Photo of a Marine holding a door for a 7-year-old child went viral.
based in new york city Terrence Floyd, who became an activist after his brother was murdered, plans to hold the third annual memorial event at a Harlem church on Thursday evening. He has supported get-out-the-vote efforts and promoted music paying tribute to his brother.
“You have to believe it will happen, because it didn’t happen overnight for Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X. It didn’t happen overnight for Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson,” he said of meaningful social change. “You can’t expect this to happen overnight for us, but it will happen.”
For more than nine minutes, a white officer pressed his knee to the neck of Floyd, a black man who gasped and said, “I can’t breathe,” echoing Eric Garner’s last words in 2014. The video footage of Floyd’s May 25, 2020, killing was so harrowing to watch that calls for change came from across the country.
But amid the deadly coronavirus pandemic, economic uncertainty and a divisive US presidential election, 2020 ended without the kind of major police reforms many had hoped for, and others feared. Then, 2021 and 2022 also failed to give much progress.
Now, three years after Floyd’s murderSupporters of federal actions — such as banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants, and replacing so-called qualified immunity protections for law enforcement — are still waiting for signs of change.
“When people casually, and I think very often, say that there is some kind of racial calculation that we are in the middle of, I don’t see any evidence of that,” Democratic U.S. Rep. of Massachusetts. Ayanna Pressley said during a recent press conference convened by the Black Lives Matter Collective.
To be clear, racial justice activists and their champions in elected office have not slowed down. but was beaten to death tyre nichols The handout of Memphis police officers in early January underscored just how long it is taking to achieve meaningful change.
“I don’t play with words like ‘calculate,'” Pressley said. “It has to be something of epic proportions. And we certainly haven’t seen a response of lynching, suffocation, brutality, (and) killing of black lives.”
From 2020, what happened in Minneapolis?
Shortly after Floyd’s killing, Minneapolis adopted a number of changes, including a ban on chokeholds and neck restraints and a requirement that police refrain from using undue force to fellow officers. Minnesota lawmakers approved statewide police accountability packages in 2020 and 2021, as well as tougher restrictions on no-knock warrants this month.
The city is still awaiting the results of a federal investigation into whether its police engaged in a “pattern or practice” of unconstitutional or illegal policing. A similar investigation by the state human rights department called a “court-enforceable settlement agreement” in March to reform policing in the city.
The federal investigation could lead to a similar but separate agreement with the city called a consent decree. Police in many other cities already operate under such oversight for civil rights violations.
Activists say Minneapolis has begun to make significant changes, but the work needed to transform policing must continue.
There was also an immediate cry to defund the police – and instead fund public housing, infrastructure and mental health services. But a ballot measure that had its roots in that movement failed, even in some heavily black areas.
An AP review of police funding found some municipalities elsewhere made modest cuts that fell far short of what activists called for.
What’s happening in Minneapolis this week?
Minneapolis activists plan to mark the anniversary with a candlelight vigil Thursday night in George Floyd Square, the corner where Floyd died. A celebration on Saturday in the Square will celebrate the change in Minneapolis.
What happened to the officers?
Derek Chauvin, the white officer who killed Floyd, and three other officers who failed to stop Chauvin at the scene all remain in jail. Chauvin was sentenced in state court to 22 1/2 years for second-degree murder. Two of the three other officers pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting manslaughter and received shorter terms, while the third officer was convicted of that count by a judge and awaits sentencing.
Chauvin also pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge, admitting that his kneeling on Floyd’s neck led to his death. He received a concurrent sentence of 21 years in that case. Three others were also convicted of violating Floyd’s rights and received lesser sentences.
What happened after the protest?
Around the world, protests against racial violence and police brutality erupted after Floyd’s killing, rekindling the Black Lives Matter movement. Videos circulated on social media of US police using less lethal weapons such as tear gas and rubber bullets, fueling demands for accountability. That accountability has so far largely come in the form of civilian settlements.
New York City found that 146 officers committed misconduct at the protests, which involved excessive force and violence, such as one officer driving a car into protesters. Independent reviews in Philadelphia, Minneapolis and Los Angeles also found that those departments mishandled their responses.
A handful of officers were fired in some cities. Some faced criminal charges: In Austin, Texas, 19 officers were indicted by a grand jury. But some have been convicted.
Minneapolis has agreed to millions of dollars in settlements with people who alleged they were victims of excessive police force during unrest following Floyd’s killing, which included the burning of a police station. But some officials faced disciplinary action.
What is happening at the federal level?
In 2020, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a piece of federal legislation, showed some signs of promise. It would ban chokeholds and no-knock warrants, such as those that enabled Louisville police to kill Breonna Taylor. It will also create a database listing officers who were disciplined for gross misconduct, among other measures.
The following year, the House passed it but the Senate failed to reach consensus.
Last year, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that extended key elements of the bill to federal law enforcement. On Thursday, Biden renewed his call for Congress to act to bring about “real and lasting change at the state and local levels.”
“I urge Congress to enact meaningful police reform and send it to my desk. I will sign it,” he said in a statement. “I will continue to do everything in my power to fight for police accountability in Congress, and I stand ready to work with Republicans and Democrats alike on real solutions.”
Meanwhile, Pressley, a Massachusetts congresswoman, is promoting the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, a measure she has re-introduced every year since 2020.
What about the Floyd family?
Over the past three years, members of George Floyd’s family have appeared at rallies and spoken out against police violence. Within days of his brother’s death, Philonise Floyd Testified at congressional hearings about police reform.
While relatives and reform advocates urge changes to the law, Gianna Floyd, George Floyd’s youngest daughter, visits Biden at the White House in 2021. Photo of a Marine holding a door for a 7-year-old child went viral.
based in new york city Terrence Floyd, who became an activist after his brother was murdered, plans to hold the third annual memorial event at a Harlem church on Thursday evening. He has supported get-out-the-vote efforts and promoted music paying tribute to his brother.
“You have to believe it will happen, because it didn’t happen overnight for Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X. It didn’t happen overnight for Rev. Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson,” he said of meaningful social change. “You can’t expect this to happen overnight for us, but it will happen.”