11/15/24  Businesses located by the intersection where officers encountered George Floyd had sued Minneapolis for violating the City charter by no longer policing the place that's now called “George Floyd Square.” Crime allegedly surged, devastating profits. But a Minneapolis judge threw out the lawsuit two months ago. Tailoring their response to the judge’s reasoning, the businesses just filed an eminent domain action, which would have the city pay them for essentially "taking" their property without compensation. (See 11/30/23 update)

4/15/24  In 2021, Mary Moriarty, Minneapolis’ one-time chief public defender, was elected as the city’s D.A. on promises of reforming the police and reining in punishment. Her tenure has been marred by criticism of her supposedly over-progressive tendencies.  Two judges rejected plea deals they found excessively lenient, and the State A.G. took over a case in which she tried to divert a youth who killed a child’s mother. Most recently, she charged a State trooper with murdering a motorist who tried to flee from a traffic stop. It’s a complex case, and even top Democratic officials have criticized her actions.

3/6/24  During the first four months of 2021, ex-Boyle County (KY) deputy Tanner Abbott punched motorists and passengers who angered him during three traffic stops. And on a fourth occasion he used the pretext that he had a warrant to get the key to a motel room, then forced his way past its occupant and rummaged through their belongings. These four episodes just led a Federal jury to convict Abbott on four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and other charges. Sentencing is pending.

2/8/24  Rejecting the police union’s claim that easing up endangers public safety, a Federal judge approved a plan that radically changes how New York City manages protests. To settle a lawsuit filed by the State A.G. and civil rights groups, the city agreed to prohibit “kettling”, the boxing-in of protesters. Officers must follow a staged approach. Its final stage - actively moving in - can only happen if protesters try to breach a sensitive location, or when widespread crimes render lesser methods ineffective. (See 7/21/23 update)

11/30/23  The Minneapolis family that owns the businesses, including Cup Foods, which are located where the encounter with George Floyd took place are suing the city for curtailing police response to what’s now called “George Floyd Square.” Keeping cops away, they claim, has led to a great increase in crime and “made the area so dangerous that it has become known as the ‘No Go Zone’.” Meanwhile, Tou Thao, the cop who watched over the spectators to Mr. Floyd’s abuse, has appealed his Federal civil-rights conviction to the Supreme Court because he allegedly lacked the required “willfulness.” (See 11/15/24 update)

7/21/23  Thirteen-hundred persons claim that NYPD roughed them up or wrongfully arrested them during the 2020 George Floyd protests organized by Black Lives Matter. New York City insists that its cops did the best they could. But to settle the massive lawsuit, which was filed by the National Lawyers Guild, it’s agreed to compensate each claimant in the amount of $9,500. Its payout, which exceeds $13 million, is one of the largest ever in such cases. (See 2/8/24 update)

7/19/23  Minneapolis’ Third Precinct police station, which was torched during the riots that followed the murder of George Floyd, remains a fenced-off pile of rubble. Although many citizens complain of delayed police response times and favor rebuilding, the opposition is significant, so a second option, building a new station some blocks away, is being considered. For now, though, an interim “third option” - sharing a station with an adjoining precinct - seems the most likely outcome.

6/19/23  Spurred by the murder of George Floyd, DOJ’s “patterns or practices” investigation of Minneapolis PD paints a grim picture. According to Attorney General Merrick Garland, MPD officers frequently used excessive force, discriminated against Black and Native American persons, mistreated persons suffering from behavioral disorders, and violated free-speech rights. MPD officers “routinely disregarded the safety of people in their custody” and failed to intervene when their colleagues were abusing citizens. Full DOJ Report   Attorney General’s summary

5/31/23  Minnesota, the home of the George Floyd imbroglio, has changed the rules on peace officer licensing. In the past an officer had to be convicted of a serious crime before the POST board could strip his authority. And that could only happen for misusing deadly force. Chauvin, for example, remained licensed until convicted of murder. Now the board will be able to revoke peace officer authority for misusing lesser forms of force. And no criminal charges against the officer need have been filed.

4/1/23  Minneapolis signed a “court-enforceable agreement” with the Minnesota Dept. of Human Rights that creates major chances in police practices in the wake of George Floyd. Cops will still be permitted to apply articulable suspicion and probable cause, but pretextual stops are severely circumscribed, and consent searches during these stops are prohibited. Use of force is also limited, and officers must not use force to punish or retaliate. They will also no longer be trained on “excited delirium”. Agreement

12/22/22  Bodycam video that “showed a chaotic scene in which officers rescued a mother and her two young children as Sundberg repeatedly fired a gun” helped the Minneapolis D.A. conclude that police snipers were justified when they shot and killed 20-year old Andrew Tekle Sundberg in July. Police opened fire when Sundberg aimed his handgun out a window that had just been shattered by large projectiles officers discharged to gain the man’s surrender (see 7/20/22 update).

10/24/22  Public reaction to the George Floyd episode led to a “mass exodus” of officers, stripping Minneapolis P.D. of one-third of its cops. Along with that came the pandemic and a surge in murders, aggravated assaults and carjackings. Citizens recently successfully sued the city for not meeting the minimum police staffing requirements imposed by the City charter. But recruitment has posed a severe challenge; there have been only 57 applicants this year compared with 292 in 2019.

9/17/22  In an unexplained last-minute change of mind, Texas parole authorities withdrew their recommendation that the Governor grant the late George Floyd a posthumous pardon for selling crack in 2004 to a disgraced former Houston undercover cop. That officer, Gerald Goines, is currently pending a murder trial for a 2019 raid that went lethally wrong (see 8/8/22 update). Floyd can be reconsidered for a pardon in two years.

8/8/22  Lying on affidavits to obtain search warrants goes well beyond the Breonna Taylor case, says the New York Times. In Houston, an officer awaits trial for falsely obtaining a narcotics search warrant in 2019 that led to a shootout in which four officers were wounded and two occupants were killed. In that case Det. Gerald Goines claimed an informant made a buy, but no such person seems to exist. (Det. Goines is responsible for George Floyd’s 2004 conviction for selling crack cocaine. See 10/6/21 and 6/21/20 updates.)

7/20/22  Protests again rocked Minneapolis. This time it was about the shooting death of 20-year old Andrew Tekle Sundberg by police snipers. That came after a six-hour standoff prompted by a woman’s complaint that Sundberg, who was allegedly “stalking” her, repeatedly fired through the wall of her apartment, endangering her and her two small children. Sundberg reportedly had untreated mental problems. A video depicts his intended victim angrily protesting - against the protest (see 12/22/22 update).

5/20/22  Passed in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, New York City’s ban on “diaphragm compression,” which a lower court found to be unconstitutionally vague, was reinstated by a State appellate panel. According to the Justices, the statute, which forbids “restrict[ing] the flow of air or blood by compressing the windpipe or the carotid arteries on each side of the neck, or sitting, kneeling, or standing on the chest or back in a manner that compresses the diaphragm,” is sufficiently precise.

4/28/22  Minnesota’s “patterns and practices” investigation concluded that Minneapolis PD officers chronically discriminated against non-White citizens, especially Black persons. Under comparable circumstances they more frequently cited, searched and arrested non-Whites and used substantially more force against them. Police culture was blamed, as was a quasi-military training approach “that results in officers unnecessarily escalating encounters or using inappropriate levels of force.” Report

4/5/22  An L.A. Times investigation revealed that LAPD officers frequently fail to comply with a policy to promptly render aid to citizens they injure. In one case they waited “more than six minutes” before approaching a knife-wielding man whom they had shot. Treating citizens as potential threats even when they are clearly incapacitated seems to be a commonly accepted practice. Some officers also worry that their non-expert intervention could hurt rather than help. But the leader of a major policing group emphasizes that the ability to “quickly pivot” from law enforcement to lifesaving is crucial.

3/25/22  After a contentious session, the Minneapolis city council voted 8-5 to approve the contract with the police union, to run thru 2022. To aid recruitment - MPD has about 300 fewer officers than before the killing of George Floyd - rookie pay will be raised to $74,000. New provisions give the chief more leeway in deploying officers returning after a “critical incident,” and requires more thorough screening for mental health issues. Officers will get raises and $7,000 in bonus payments during the year. They will also be more promptly told the names of persons who request public records about them.

3/17/22  In March 2020, two months before the killing of George Floyd, CHP officers forcibly held down Edward Bronstein, 38, to draw his blood. Bronstein, who was under arrest for driving while intoxicated, had become agitated, and he was handcuffed and placed on his stomach. He repeatedly complained “I can’t breathe,” then went silent. Cause of death was listed as “acute methamphetamine intoxication during restraint by law enforcement.” CHP denies its officers were at fault, and a lawsuit is in progress.

2/28/22  As the George Floyd imbroglio makes clear, officers must intervene when their colleagues misbehave. How that’s best done is the subject of a program at Georgetown University. “ABLE” teaches that officers are “humans who get tired and stressed and make mistakes,” and looks on colleagues as “helpers” on the alert for signs of personal troubles. Intervention is taught as a stepwise method that begins with questioning a colleague’s conduct and proceeds in stages to physical intervention.

12/30/21  A Kansas youth was detained after exhibiting “erratic and aggressive” behavior at his foster home. He then fought his jailers. They shackled his feet and arms and placed him on his stomach. Cedric Lofton, 17, lost consciousness and died. According to the coroner, his death was a homicide caused by “complications of cardiopulmonary arrest sustained after physical struggle while restrained in the prone position.” A lawyer and some experts are faulting his death on the use of prone restraint.

12/24/21  Citing technical reasons, Texas parole authorities withdrew their recommendation that the Governor posthumously pardon George Floyd’s past conviction for sale of crack (see 10/6/21 update).

12/7/21  A newly-published article, “Elevated police turnover following the summer of George Floyd protests: A synthetic control study” (Criminology & Public Policy, August 2021) reports that voluntary resignations by officers employed by “a large police department in the western United States” increased nearly three-fold because of the protests. Its authors predict that such departures will continue.

11/3/21  By a 56.1% to 43.8% margin, Minneapolis voters turned down a ballot measure to replace the police department with a “public safety” agency that did not necessarily include armed officers. Citizens dismayed by the killing of George Floyd but beset by a jump in violence were put off by the proposed agency’s vague shape and function. “I think we need to do some changes, maybe make some reforms, but...they've had a year to come up with something other than...Oh, we're going to do this or that.”

11/1/21  “We need the police -- there’s no other way I can say that.” Bishop Divar Kemp, a Baptist minister in Minneapolis’ violence-beset North side, is all for reform. But he opposes replacing police with an agency that offers a “comprehensive public health approach to safety,” as the ballot measure being voted on tomorrow would do. Sponsored by the progressive “Yes 4 Minneapolis,” it would not require the use of armed officers, and leaves it to the Mayor and City Council to decide how best to proceed.

10/23/21  A proposed revision to the Minneapolis city charter would replace police with a public safety agency and make armed officers optional. Indeed, one sponsor, “Reclaim the Block,” advocates for a “police-free future.” While many proponents argue that some cops would remain, even some Black activists worry what would happen if the officer-poor, violence-besieged city loses any more officers. Democrats have lined up on both sides: State A.G. Keith Ellison and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar are for the measure, while Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith are against.

10/6/21  George Floyd’s criminal record in Houston includes a 2004 felony conviction for selling crack cocaine. He pled guilty and served ten months. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has now recommended that he be retroactively pardoned for that crime. Its investigating detective, Gerald Goines, awaits trial for murder relating to a botched drug raid, and “more than 160 drug convictions” resulting from his work have been dismissed because of concerns that he lied to obtain search warrants. (see 6/21/20 update). For how Houston policing intersected with the life of George Floyd, click here. [Note: see 12/24/21 update]

10/3/21  In a recent review of prior research, a hospital cardiologist who has testified against police use of positional restraints criticizes what seems to be the prevailing expert opinion, that the technique is not a cause of death. Dr. Alon Steinberg argues that while such restraints are unlikely to asphyxiate a healthy person, they decrease both ventilation and cardiac output. This can “significantly worsen acidosis and hemodynamics,” and these factors can in turn lead to cardiac arrest.

6/30/21  In December 2015 St. Louis police arrested Nicholas Gilbert for trespassing and placed him in a cell. Gilbert acted as though he was suicidal and became violent. Officers handcuffed and shackled Gilbert and forcefully held him down on his stomach. After fifteen minutes. Gilbert died. His family’s Federal lawsuit was rejected by a District Court which found that the officers had qualified immunity. On appeal, a Circuit Court held that constitutionally excessive force wasn’t used. But in Lombardo v. St. Louis (no. 20-391, 6/28/21) the Supreme Court sent the case back to the Circuit to consider whether the prone positioning was reasonable given its known dangers and the agency’s own warnings about its use.

6/6/21  Three days of protests have followed the shooting death of Minneapolis resident Winston Smith, 32 by sheriff’s deputies assigned to a Federal fugitive task force. Smith, who was wanted on Federal charges of being a felon with a gun, allegedly fired on officers as they approached his vehicle. The gun he reportedly used and a spent bullet casing were recovered. There is no bodycam video.

5/25/21  The first anniversary of George Floyd’s death sparked major events around the U.S., including  a day of celebrations of his life in Minneapolis, both at the site of his death, now named “George Floyd Square,” and at a downtown park. According to organizers, it would be “a time to inwardly reflect, a time to use music and art to think deeply of the seismic shifts in America society over the past year, a time to educate from the speakers who'd be interspersed with musicians, and a time to think deeply of the meaning of the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.”

5/7/21  A Federal Grand jury indicted Derek Chauvin and his three colleagues, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane for violating the Federal civil rights of George Floyd, both through their actions and by failing to render aid. In addition, Chauvin is separately accused of violating the civil rights of a 14-year old whom he held “by the throat” and struck “multiple times in the head with a flashlight” in 2017.

4/28/21  An October 2019 use-of-force that seems nearly identical to the tactics used against George Floyd led the City of San Diego to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Angel Zapata Hernandez for $5.5 million. Mr. Hernandez, a mentally disturbed 24-year old, died after two civilian transit officers placed the handcuffed man on his stomach and applied pressure with their arms and knees to his back and neck for six minutes. According to the medical examiner, the cause of death was “sudden cardiopulmonary arrest while in a prone restraint.” Heart disease was listed as “a contributing factor.”

4/21/21  One day after the conviction of former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, DOJ announced that it will conduct a “patterns and practices” investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department: “The investigation will assess all types of force used by MPD officers, including uses of force involving individuals with behavioral health disabilities and uses of force against individuals engaged in activities protected by the First Amendment. The investigation will also assess whether MPD engages in discriminatory policing.”

4/16/21  One day after killing Mr. Wright (see below update) Brooklyn Center, Minn. police officer Kim Potter resigned from the force. One day after that she was charged with second-degree manslaughter, a felony punishable by up to ten years imprisonment. Officer Wright, a 26-year veteran who was training new officers at the time, was released on $100,000 bail. Her chief also resigned, and the mayor fired the city manager for allegedly mishandling the citizen protests that have ensued.

4/12/21  A Minneapolis suburb erupted into rioting and looting after a Black man died during an encounter with local police. During the afternoon of April 11, Brooklyn Center, Minn. police stopped Daunte Wright, 20 for a traffic violation, then tried to arrest him on a misdemeanor gun warrant. According to Police Chief Tim Gannon, the officer who shot Mr. Wright accidentally fired her gun instead of a Taser. Her body camera video records the shouted warning “Taser! Taser! Taser!” as Mr. Wright leaps back for his car. She then fired one round and exclaimed “Holy shit, I just shot him.” Mr. Wright drove off but the vehicle soon crashed.

3/21/21  A comprehensive New York City report found serious flaws in its police department’s response to summer 2020 protests sparked by the death of George Floyd. It criticized, among other things, the lack of a “clearly defined” strategy for handling such events, “excessive enforcement” of minor transgressions (e.g. curfew violations) which needlessly increased officer-citizen conflicts, a thoughtless, overly rigid use of intelligence, and officers’ lack of recent training in handling protests. An inquiry by the New York Times reported similar lapses by police departments across the U.S.

3/12/21  Minneapolis settled the lawsuit filed by George Floyd’s family for a record-breaking $27 million. It’s the city’s largest payout for a death due to officer misconduct. Its next-largest payout, $20 million, was in 2019. It went to the family of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a 9-1-1 caller who was shot and killed after startling a cop. Other payouts to families of citizens killed by police include $3.1 million in 2013 and $2.2 million in 2011. In 2007 the city paid $4.5 million for the mistaken shooting of officer Duy Ngo by a colleague. Officer Ngo, who was left disabled, committed suicide two weeks after the settlement.

3/10/21  An online poll of 1,165 American voters disclosed “a stark divide” between Black and White opinions on race and policing. While a decided majority of Blacks (64 percent) felt that police had murdered George Floyd, only 28 percent of Whites agreed. “Fully funding” police was endorsed by 65 percent of Whites and 37 percent of Blacks. Similar Democratic/Republican splits were also evident.

3/4/21  Narrowly passed by the House, the “George Floyd Justice in Policing Act” (summary; full text) seeks to eliminate discriminatory policing and hold officers accountable for misconduct. Among other things, it lowers the criminal intent required for Federal prosecution of police abuses, narrows the scope of the qualified immunity officers now enjoy, creates a national registry of officer misconduct, requires additional training and reporting on use of force, and expands the requirement to wear body cameras.

12/11/20  Minneapolis police will not be “defunded.” But $8 million - 4.5 percent of the agency’s $179 million budget - is being redirected to social services, including funding mental health response teams that will operate independently of police.

11/26/20  Breonna Taylor’s death is leading to a tightening of no-knock policies elsewhere. In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, new rules require that officers yell “police” and “search warrant” even when “no-knock” has been authorized. To go further requires approval of the police chief and an extreme situation, such as the rescue of a hostage.

11/14/20  A surge of robberies, shootings and killings after George Floyd’s death has beset Minneapolis, and particularly its poverty-stricken North side. Citywide, murder is up fifty percent and more than 500 have been shot, twice the number last year. But police coverage is down as waves of officers go on sick leave or resign. Some temporary officers are being hired but no solution is in sight. One resident complains of living in a state of war as politicians “embark on a campaign against your own police department, fighting and demonizing an entire internal city organization instead of making it better.”

11/8/20  Interviews by the New York Times revealed split opinions between Blacks and Whites about the protests sparked by police use of force against minorities, with Blacks generally viewing them as reflective of their everyday concerns while many Whites expressed anxiety about the impact of the disorder on their communities.

10/21/20  In a joint announcement with Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo DOJ unveiled a “National Response Center Initiative” intended to help Minneapolis and police across the U.S. “adapt to the wide range of challenges” posed by gangs, drugs and social problems such as homelessness and “enhance and reform policies and practices to prevent the use of excessive force.”

9/27/20  Former officer Thao was repeatedly reprimanded as a cadet for taking shortcuts. He also had six complaints as an officer. Five ended without discipline, and one remained open. A 2014 excessive force complaint was settled with the victim for $25,000, and an internal inquiry was conducted in 2017 about his “expediency and dishonesty,” apparently for trying to avoid writing reports in certain cases.

8/20/20  According to Earl Gray, the lawyer for ex-officer Lane, autopsy results prove that Floyd, who had a pre-existing heart condition, literally “killed himself” with a drug overdose. In videos, Floyd reportedly complained about not being able to breathe well before ex-cop Chauvin pinned him with his knee. “We are going to show that my client and the other cops were doing their jobs” said Gray.

8/15/20 Newly released officer bodycam videos. Click here and here.

7/9/20  Transcripts of footage from the body-cams of Minneapolis officers Lane and Kueng reveal that officer Lane voiced concern that George Floyd was suffering from “excited delirium or whatever.” Officers summoned an ambulance early during the struggle but confusion about their location and the urgency caused a delay.

6/30/20  In the New York Times, an extensive inquiry into seventy police in-custody deaths during the last ten years where the decedents complained they couldn’t breathe. Many (but not all) the arrestees had been forcibly restrained, most often by being placed on their stomachs, had drugs in their system, and suffered from serious health issues.

Floyd’s final, full autopsy report indicates that a wide assortment of drugs were in his system, including “Fentanyl 11 ng/mL, Norfentanyl 5.6 ng/mL, 4-ANPP 0.65 ng/mL, Methamphetamine 19 ng/mL, 11-Hydroxy Delta-9 THC 1.2 ng/mL; Delta-9 Carboxy THC 42 ng/mL; Delta-9 THC 2.9 ng/mL, Cotinine positive,  Caffeine positive.” His blood was free of alcohol. Urine was “presumptive positive for cannabinoids, amphetamines, and fentanyl/metabolite” and “morphine (free) 86 ng/mL.”

6/27/20  In the New York Times, a probing portrait of Alex Kueng, the black rookie who was arrested in Floyd’s death. Now out on bail, ex-cop Kueng faces the wrath of both friends and family members.

6/21/20  Floyd’s 2004 drug sales conviction was based on the testimony of a black narcotics detective, since retired, who is being investigated for falsifying his work, leading to a 2019 raid that went murderously astray. More than one-hundred prior cases are under review and will likely be dismissed (see 10/6/21 update).

6/9/20 In the Los Angeles Times, a searching account of George Floyd’s life in Houston, based on in-depth interviews with two friends with whom he sold drugs. “As young men growing up in poverty, we all done missed the mark” said one, who also has a felony record and did time. “There was a generational curse on the ghetto. And when you got home, the hood still embraced you.”

5/26/20  Stating that “being black in America should not be a death sentence,” Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey announced that he already fired the four officers who participated in the encounter.