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Tag: Death of George Floyd

  • Today in History: December 15, Bill of Rights takes effect

    Today in History: December 15, Bill of Rights takes effect

    Today in History

    Today is Thursday, Dec. 15, the 349th day of 2022. There are 16 days left in the year.

    Today’s Highlight in History:

    On Dec. 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, went into effect following ratification by Virginia.

    On this date:

    In 1890, Sioux Indian Chief Sitting Bull and 11 other tribe members were killed in Grand River, South Dakota, during a confrontation with Indian police.

    In 1939, the Civil War motion picture epic “Gone with the Wind,” starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, had its world premiere in Atlanta.

    In 1944, a single-engine plane carrying bandleader Glenn Miller, a major in the U.S. Army Air Forces, disappeared over the English Channel while en route to Paris.

    In 1967, the Silver Bridge between Gallipolis (gal-ih-puh-LEES’), Ohio, and Point Pleasant, West Virginia, collapsed into the Ohio River, killing 46 people.

    In 1978, President Jimmy Carter announced he would grant diplomatic recognition to Communist China on New Year’s Day and sever official relations with Taiwan.

    In 1989, a popular uprising began in Romania that resulted in the downfall of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu (chow-SHEHS’-koo).

    In 2000, the long-troubled Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine was closed for good.

    In 2001, with a crash and a large dust cloud, a 50-foot tall section of steel — the last standing piece of the World Trade Center’s facade — was brought down in New York.

    In 2011, the flag used by U.S. forces in Iraq was lowered in a low-key Baghdad airport ceremony marking the end of a war that had left 4,500 Americans and 110,000 Iraqis dead and cost more than $800 billion.

    In 2013, Nelson Mandela was laid to rest in his childhood hometown, ending a 10-day mourning period for South Africa’s first Black president.

    In 2016, a federal jury in Charleston, South Carolina, convicted Dylann Roof of slaughtering nine Black church members who had welcomed him to their Bible study.

    In 2020, the Food and Drug Administration cleared the first kit that consumers could buy without a prescription to test themselves for COVID-19 entirely at home. After weeks of holding out, Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Joe Biden on winning the presidential election.

    Ten years ago: A day after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, investigators worked to understand what led the 20-year-old gunman to slaughter 26 children and adults after also killing his mother and before taking his own life. In his Saturday radio address, President Barack Obama declared that “every parent in America has a heart heavy with hurt” and said it was time to “take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this.”

    Five years ago: Republicans revealed the details of their huge national tax rewrite; the 35 percent tax rate on corporations would fall to 21 percent, and the measure would repeal the requirement under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act that all Americans have health insurance or face a penalty. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the middle class would “get skewered” under the GOP tax measure, while the wealthy and corporations would “make out like bandits.”

    One year ago: Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, admitting for the first time that he held his knee across Floyd’s neck and kept it there even after Floyd became unresponsive, resulting in the Black man’s death. A federal appeals court panel lifted a nationwide ban against President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for health care workers, instead blocking the requirement in only certain states and setting the stage for patchwork enforcement across the country. New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams named Keechant Sewell, a Long Island police official, as the city’s next police commissioner, making her the first woman to lead the nation’s largest police force.

    Today’s Birthdays: Singer Cindy Birdsong (The Supremes) is 83. Rock musician Dave Clark (The Dave Clark Five) is 80. Rock musician Carmine Appice (Vanilla Fudge) is 76. Actor Don Johnson is 73. Actor Melanie Chartoff is 72. Movie director Julie Taymor is 70. Movie director Alex Cox is 68. Rock musician Paul Simonon (The Clash) is 67. Movie director John Lee Hancock is 66. Democratic Party activist Donna Brazile is 63. Country singer Doug Phelps (Brother Phelps; Kentucky Headhunters) is 62. Movie producer-director Reginald Hudlin is 61. Actor Helen Slater is 59. Actor Paul Kaye (TV: “Game of Thrones”) is 58. Actor Molly Price is 57. Actor Garrett Wang (wahng) is 54. Actor Michael Shanks is 52. Actor Stuart Townsend is 50. Figure skater Surya Bonaly is 49. Actor Geoff Stults is 46. Actor Adam Brody is 43. Actor Michelle Dockery is 41. Actor George O. Gore II is 40. Actor Camilla Luddington is 39. Rock musician and actor Alana Haim (HYM) is 31. Actor Maude Apatow (AP’-ih-tow) is 25. Actor Stefania Owen is 25.

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  • Cop who held Floyd’s torso to be sentenced for manslaughter

    Cop who held Floyd’s torso to be sentenced for manslaughter

    MINNEAPOLIS — The former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s back while another officer kneeled on the Black man’s neck is expected to be sentenced Friday to 3 1/2 years in prison for manslaughter.

    J. Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty in October to a state count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. The plea came on the same day jury selection was set to begin in his trial. His guilty plea — along with another officer’s decision to let a judge decide his fate — averted what would have been the third long and painful trial over Floyd’s killing.

    Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after former Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes as Floyd repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe and eventually went limp. The killing, which was recorded on video by a bystander, sparked worldwide protests as part of a broader reckoning over racial injustice.

    Kueng kneeled on Floyd’s back during the restraint. Then-Officer Thomas Lane held Floyd’s legs and Tou Thao, also an officer at the time, kept bystanders from intervening. All of the officers were fired and faced state and federal charges.

    Kueng, who is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, will appear at Friday’s sentencing hearing via video from a low-security federal prison in Ohio. Kueng has the right to make a statement, but it’s not known if he will.

    Floyd’s family members also have the right to make victim impact statements.

    As part of his plea agreement, Kueng admitted that he held Floyd’s torso, that he knew from his experience and training that restraining a handcuffed person in a prone position created a substantial risk, and that the restraint of Floyd was unreasonable under the circumstances.

    Kueng agreed to a state sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison, to be served at the same time as his federal sentence and in federal custody.

    Kueng’s sentencing will bring the cases against all of the former officers a step closer to resolution, though the state case against Thao is still pending.

    Thao previously told Judge Peter Cahill that it “would be lying” to plead guilty. In October, he agreed to what’s called a stipulated evidence trial on the aiding and abetting manslaughter count. As part of that process, his attorneys and prosecutors are working out agreed-upon evidence in his case and filing written closing arguments. Cahill will then decide whether he is guilty or not.

    If Thao is convicted, the murder count — which carries a presumptive sentence of 12 1/2 years in prison — will be dropped.

    Chauvin, who is white, was convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges last year and is serving 22 1/2 years in the state case. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years. He is serving the sentences concurrently at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.

    Kueng, Lane and Thao were convicted of federal charges in February: All three were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care and Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin during the killing.

    Lane, who is white, is serving his 2 1/2-year federal sentence at a facility in Colorado. He’s serving a three-year state sentence at the same time. Kueng, who is Black, was sentenced to three years on the federal counts; Thao, who is Hmong American, got a 3 1/2-year federal sentence.

    ———

    Groves reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

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    For more AP coverage of the killing of George Floyd: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

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  • Sharpton says film debuts at ‘critical point’ in US politics

    Sharpton says film debuts at ‘critical point’ in US politics

    NEW YORK (AP) — The Rev. Al Sharpton has been called a lot of names in his public life: a hustler, a racist, an opportunist, a fraud, a rat, a jester.

    He embraces at least one of the intended insults, a name often hurled by his critics on the right and the left: “Loudmouth.” That’s also the title of a two-hour documentary about the national civil rights leader debuting at theaters in 50 cities Friday.

    Sharpton’s brash and combative styles, deployed in his advocacy for victims and families seeking accountability over police brutality and racial injustices, are on full display as filmmakers trace his evolution from Brooklyn rabble-rouser to sought-after figure in the U.S. political arena. Sharpton said he hopes the film inspires up-and-coming generations of loudmouths to join movements against injustices in their own communities.

    “You had to be loud because you were not invited to address the public,” he says in the documentary framed around a wide-ranging, sit-down interview.

    The lean physique Sharpton sat for the interview dressed in a three-piece, tailored suit and tie — a noticeable contrast to the rotund, chain and medallion wearing young man in a track suit, who many older Americans may remember.

    The documentary opens with the civil rights leader’s 2019 birthday party, which was attended by A-list celebrities and top New York elected officials. The film concludes with a tearful Sharpton leading a prayer in 2021 after a jury convicted a white, former Minneapolis police officer for the murder of George Floyd. In between those bookends, viewers see an in-depth exploration of Sharpton’s upbringing by his mother, Ada Richards Sharpton, mentorship by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and soul music icon James Brown, as well as his headline-grabbing activism in New York in the 1980s.

    It’s arguably the most nuanced look at the leader to date.

    Directed by Josh Alexander and executive produced by singer-songwriter John Legend, “Loudmouth” has already screened at the Tribeca, Chicago, Philadelphia, Martha’s Vineyard and Denver film festivals. Its nationwide release comes at a “critical point” in U.S. politics, when divided government via the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate could mean intensified activism around a civil rights agenda, Sharpton said.

    “I think it’s more needed now than ever,” he told The Associated Press, “the kind of direct action and work on the ground that create the climate for protest. It’s going to double our efforts.”

    As he wraps up 2022, Sharpton reflected on what has been a mixed, yet consequential stretch in progressive politics. On one hand, the midterm elections showed larger than expected engagement among a younger generation of voters, which blunted a predicted “red wave” in state and federal offices. By that, Sharpton said he is encouraged.

    On the other hand, violence via mass shootings this year, including the massacre of Black shoppers by a white supremacist gunman at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, woke many up to how intractable politics on guns and racial justice can be.

    “I think that the shooting showed that we were not nearly as far as we thought we were going to go after George Floyd,” Sharpton said. “From the shootings in Buffalo, to the synagogue attacks, to the LGBTQ attack (in Colorado Springs), there’s widespread violent hate out there.”

    “We’re going to have to have strong, hard enforcement legislation,” he added.

    Alexander, the director, said whether viewers come out of the film loving or hating Sharpton, they will go away understanding what the leader was up against.

    “If he’s saying the same things now that he’s been saying for decades, but now he’s celebrated and back then he was castigated, what does that tell us not about him but about the media ecosystem at the time?” Alexander told the AP.

    Sharpton, 68, has been a go-to advocate for grieving Black American families seeking justice for nearly countless incidents that highlight systemic racism. Democratic politicians see him as a necessary ally for shoring up their credentials on racial justice issues.

    It took Sharpton more than two decades to get there. Born in 1954 in Brooklyn, he showed promise as a preacher at age 4 and was ordained as a minister by age 10. At 13, Jackson appointed Sharpton as youth director of New York’s Operation Breadbasket, an anti-poverty project of the Rev. Martin Luther King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

    By the ’80s, a young adult Sharpton constantly courted controversy for using inflammatory language against his opponents. His most fiery rhetoric was reserved for the elected officials from whom he demanded action on cases of racial violence and police brutality.

    “Loudmouth” relies heavily on footage from that period. The documentary highlights Sharpton’s activism in the cases of Michael Griffith, a 23-year-old Black man killed in 1986 by white men outside a pizza parlor in the then-predominantly white Queens neighborhood of Howard Beach; Yusuf Hawkins, a Black teenager fatally shot in 1989 after being confronted by a mob of white youths in the historically Italian American neighborhood of Bensonhurst in Brooklyn; and most controversially, Tawana Brawley, a 15-year-old Black girl who in 1987 accused six white men, including police officers, of assault and rape in upstate New York.

    A grand jury later found evidence that Brawley had fabricated the story. Although Sharpton was hardly the only prominent New York figure who believed Brawley’s story, many of Sharpton’s critics still bring up the case to discredit him.

    “Later in life, I became more conscious,” Sharpton says in reflection in the documentary. “I saw Tawana, in many ways, like the Black mother I had that was fighting for kids. … I saw in her a Black woman that Black men wouldn’t stand up for, and I wasn’t going to be the one to walk away from her. No matter how hot it got, I just wasn’t going to do it.”

    Sharpton told the AP that the documentary does a good job of dispelling the narrative that racism was largely a problem of the U.S. South.

    “Racism was not just a Southern thing, it was a Northern thing,” he said. “But it was manicured racism, until we got out there and marched.”

    ___

    Aaron Morrison is a New York-based national writer on the AP’s Race and Ethnicity team. Follow him on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/aaronlmorrison.

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  • 1 plea, 1 alternate approach avert trial over Floyd’s death

    1 plea, 1 alternate approach avert trial over Floyd’s death

    MINNEAPOLIS — Another long and painful trial over the killing of George Floyd was averted on Monday after one former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty to manslaughter and another agreed to take a more uncommon approach and let a judge decide his fate based on the evidence in the case.

    J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao had been set to stand trial Monday on charges of aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter in the May 25, 2020, killing of Floyd, who died after another officer kneeled on the Black man’s neck, sparking worldwide protests as part of a broader reckoning over racial injustice.

    Instead, Kueng pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in exchange for the murder count being dismissed. And Thao, who previously told the judge that it “would be lying” to plead guilty, agreed to what’s called a stipulated evidence trial on the aiding and abetting manslaughter count. The two sides will work out agreed-upon evidence in his case, file written closing arguments and let Judge Peter Cahill decide guilt or innocence.

    If Thao is convicted, the murder count — which carries a presumptive sentence of 12 1/2 years in prison — will be dropped.

    The day’s developments pushed the long process of prosecuting the officers involved in Floyd’s death nearer an end. Derek Chauvin, the white officer who pinned Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes as Floyd said he couldn’t breathe and eventually grew still, was convicted in state court in spring 2021 and later pleaded guilty to federal charges. A fourth officer, Thomas Lane, was convicted of federal charges in February and pleaded guilty to state charges in May.

    Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders back during the restraint, which was captured on video.

    Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office prosecuted the state cases, said in a statement that he hopes Keung’s plea can bring comfort to Floyd’s family and “bring our communities closer to a new era of accountability and justice.” He also said his office is looking forward to a swift resolution of Thao’s case.

    Thao waived his right to a jury trial, as well as his right to cross-examine the state’s witnesses, call witnesses of his own and testify. But he preserves his right to appeal. His attorney, Bob Paule, told The Associated Press that this allows Thao to still litigate the issue of his guilt or innocence, and “it’s ultimately up to the judge to decide whether this really constitutes aiding and abetting. “

    Legal experts say the approach is uncommon in a case like this and could benefit both sides.

    “The stipulated bench trial allows him to maintain his innocence and to blame the court if he gets found guilty, rather than make any admissions himself,” said Rachel Moran, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law. “On the state’s part, they also don’t want to go to trial. They are exhausted, their witnesses are exhausted. … They potentially get what they want, which is just a conviction and concurrent prison time, which is all they were looking for.”

    As part of his plea agreement, Kueng admitted that he held Floyd’s torso, that he knew from his experience and training that restraining a handcuffed person in a prone position created a substantial risk, and that the restraint of Floyd was unreasonable under the circumstances.

    Kueng agreed to a sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison, to be served at the same time as his federal sentence and in federal custody. He will be formally sentenced later and was being returned to federal custody — he has been at a prison in Ohio since early October.

    Ben Crump and other attorneys for Floyd’s family said in a statement that Kueng’s plea shows justice takes time, adding: “We must never forget the horror of what we all saw in that 9-minute video, and that there rightfully should be both accountability for all involved as well as deep lessons learned for police officers and communities everywhere.”

    In Thao’s case, both sides have until Nov. 17 to submit their materials to Cahill, who said he would decide within 90 days. If convicted of manslaughter, Thao would likely get about four years in prison, to be served at the same time as his federal sentence.

    Thao, who has been at the federal medical center in Lexington, Kentucky, since early October, said in court that he wished to remain in Hennepin County sheriff’s custody while his case proceeds, even though he would be in solitary confinement.

    Cahill said in court that Thao had recently suffered a concussion, but he did not say how. When asked if there had been an incident at the federal prison, a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons said he could not comment, citing privacy, safety and security reasons.

    Someone familiar with the matter told the AP that Thao was attacked in prison on Friday but only suffered minor injuries. The person could not discuss details of the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

    John Baker, a lawyer and assistant professor of criminal justice studies at St. Cloud State University, said stipulated bench trials can be used when there are concerns about getting an unbiased jury and when a case hinges more on a legal question rather than evidentiary issues.

    Mike Brandt, a Minneapolis defense attorney who is also monitoring the case, said: “I think there was incentive for everyone to settle these cases. The state probably had a reality check; that murder charges were questionable. And if they can get (a conviction) without the time and trouble, and frankly without putting the witnesses through all the trauma again, there’s a huge benefit in that.”

    Chauvin was convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges last year and is serving 22 1/2 years in the state case. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years. He is serving the sentences concurrently at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.

    Kueng, Lane and Thao were convicted of federal charges in February: All three were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care and Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin during the killing.

    Lane, who is white, is serving his 2 1/2-year federal sentence at a facility in Colorado. He’s serving a three-year state sentence at the same time. Kueng, who is Black, was sentenced to three years on the federal counts; Thao, who is Hmong American, got a 3 1/2-year federal sentence.

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    Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report.

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    Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

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  • 2 cops head to trial for aiding George Floyd’s killing

    2 cops head to trial for aiding George Floyd’s killing

    MINNEAPOLIS — Two former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death are heading to trial on state aiding and abetting counts, the third and likely final criminal proceeding in a killing that mobilized protesters worldwide against racial injustice in policing.

    J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao have already been convicted of federal counts for violating Floyd’s civil rights and begun serving those sentences. Many witnesses expected to testify at their state trial have already done so at both their federal trial and at the state trial against their former colleague, Derek Chauvin.

    While much of the evidence in this proceeding will look similar, there will be some key differences.

    Here are a few things to know as jury selection gets underway Monday:

    WHAT IS THIS TRIAL ABOUT?

    Kueng, Thao and Thomas Lane were working with Chauvin on May 25, 2020, when Chauvin, who is white, used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck to the pavement for more than nine minutes as the 46-year-old Black man said he couldn’t breathe and eventually grew still. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders back.

    Kueng, who is Black, and Thao, who is Hmong American, are each charged with aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Prosecutors will have to prove they intentionally helped Chauvin. They don’t have to prove that they intended to kill Floyd or cause him great bodily harm.

    THE THIRD TRIAL

    Chauvin was the first officer to face trial in a livestreamed, weekslong proceeding filled with emotional testimony from bystanders, graphic video of Floyd’s dying moments and expert testimony about use of force as well as the mechanics of breathing. He was ultimately convicted of murder and manslaughter.

    The second trial in Floyd’s death came in federal court, where Lane, Kueng and Thao were all convicted of federal civil rights violations.

    “It’s going to be, I think, exhaustingly repetitive for the witnesses who have already testified multiple times and don’t want to relive this,” said Rachel Moran, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.

    But there will be some nuances. Moran said this case could be more difficult for prosecutors: While Chauvin’s offense was more direct because he had his knee on Floyd’s neck, prosecutors in this case have to show what Kueng and Thao intentionally did to help him commit a crime.

    Judge Peter Cahill has limited expert witnesses to try to avoid repetition. He’s also ordered attorneys not to ask questions designed to elicit emotion.

    SOME NOTABLE DIFFERENCES

    Witnesses won’t be allowed to ask the jury to take actions and follow along with demonstrations – as lung and critical care specialist Dr. Martin Tobin did during Chauvin’s trial. In that case, Tobin placed his hands on his own neck and encouraged jurors to do the same as he explained how he believed Floyd died. Jurors said later that Tobin provided some of the trial’s most compelling evidence.

    It’s also unknown if a girl who was just 9 at the time of Floyd’s killing will testify. Prosecutors want to call her to argue that even a young girl knew something was wrong – so the officers should have known as well. The defense has countered that her testimony isn’t that different from that of other bystanders and will only play upon jurors’ emotions. She previously testified at Chauvin’s trial.

    Cahill encouraged prosecutors not to call the girl because testifying in a murder trial can be traumatic, especially for children, but he didn’t bar them from doing so.

    WERE PLEA DEALS OFFERED?

    Yes. Both Kueng and Thao rejected offers for three-year sentences that would have been served at the same time as their federal sentences. Thao told Cahill: “It would be lying for me to accept any plea offer.”

    That set them apart from Lane, who pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting manslaughter and got three years. Kueng and Thao are risking significantly longer sentences; the murder charge has a recommended sentence of 12 1/2 years, and prosecutors say they intend to seek more.

    “The reality is, it’s their right (to go to trial) and Tou Thao in particular seems to just believe that he has done nothing wrong and therefore he can’t admit to doing anything wrong,” Moran said.

    JURY SELECTION

    Hundreds of prospective jurors were sent a 17-page questionnaire that explored how much they know about the case, their views on police and whether they’ve participated in civil rights marches, among other things.

    Sixteen people will be chosen; 12 will deliberate.

    Jurors will be questioned individually about their views and whether they can be fair. An unlimited number of potential jurors can be dismissed “for cause,” such as when a juror has shown that he or she can’t be impartial.

    Each side may also dismiss jurors with a limited number of peremptory strikes, which don’t require a reason but can be challenged if the other side believes it’s due solely to a potential juror’s race or gender.

    The defense gets 10 such strikes — five for each defendant — and the state gets six.

    The key will be finding jurors who can be impartial. Moran said that while diversity on a jury is important, the idea that a jury’s racial composition will affect the outcome has been called into question. She noted that the jury that convicted Kueng and Thao of federal charges was mostly white, as was the state jury that convicted Kim Potter, then an officer in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center, in the 2021 fatal shooting of Black motorist Daunte Wright.

    TRIAL LOGISTICS

    Opening statements begin Nov. 7. The trial won’t be livestreamed. Cameras in courts are rare in Minnesota, and Chauvin’s was livestreamed due to the high public interest and courtroom space limitations because of COVID-19 restrictions.

    WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

    Kueng and Thao reported to federal prison earlier this month to begin serving their sentences for violating Floyd’s rights. Kueng is serving three years at federal prison in Ohio and Thao is serving 3½ years at a facility in Kentucky.

    They will be in custody in Minnesota during the trial.

    Lane, who is white, is serving his 2 ½-year federal sentence at a facility in Colorado. He’s serving a 3-year state sentence at the same time.

    Chauvin was sentenced to 22 ½ years on the state murder charge and 21 years on a federal count of violating Floyd’s rights. He’s serving those sentences simultaneously at a federal prison in Arizona.

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    Find AP’s full coverage of the killing of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

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  • Man pleads guilty in police car fire at George Floyd protest

    Man pleads guilty in police car fire at George Floyd protest

    PHILADELPHIA — A man who admitted to setting a police vehicle on fire during protests in Philadelphia over the police killing of George Floyd has pleaded guilty to federal charges.

    Carlos Matchett, 32, of Atlantic City, New Jersey, pleaded guilty Friday to felony counts of obstructing law enforcement during a civil disorder and traveling to incite a riot, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. In exchange for the pleas, prosecutors agreed to drop arson charges that would have carried a seven-year mandatory minimum prison term.

    Matchett, who is to be sentenced in February, is the fourth defendant to acknowledge having set police cars ablaze during a mass demonstration outside Philadelphia’s City Hall in May 2020. He was also charged in an Atlantic City protest the next day that began peacefully but ended up with theft and vandalism at outlet stores.

    According to a criminal complaint, police in New Jersey arrested Carlos Matchett at the scene with a folding knife, a hatchet and a jar containing what appeared to be gasoline. Authorities alleged that he had a social media page containing a post stating “LETS START a RIOT” and video showing him urging people to enter a store.

    Matchett admitted in court that he set fire to an overturned police car in Philadelphia, saying he sprayed the car with lighter fluid before throwing the whole bottle into the burning car. He also acknowledged having livestreamed his efforts to encourage looting in Atlantic City.

    Three other people remain accused of setting police cars ablaze in Philadelphia during the demonstration; one awaits sentencing and two face trial.

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  • City where George Floyd was killed struggles to recruit cops

    City where George Floyd was killed struggles to recruit cops

    MINNEAPOLIS — Inside the Minneapolis Police Academy’s sprawling campus on the city’s north side, six people sat soberly and listened to a handful of officers and city officials make their pitch about joining an understaffed department that is synonymous with the murder of George Floyd.

    Officers would live in a bustling, vibrant metro area with a high quality of life, they said, working in a large department where they could choose a wide variety of career paths with comprehensive benefits.

    But those who take the oath must understand it is a dangerous job and that they would be expected to protect the sanctity of human life — even if it means reining in a fellow officer. And everything they do must be aimed at rebuilding trust in a city left in tatters by the killing of Floyd and other Black men.

    “There’s still people who still value us,” Sgt. Vanessa Anderson told the potential recruits. “The community still values us. I really do think that.”

    Crime rose in Minneapolis during the pandemic, as in many American cities. Homicide offenses nearly doubled from 2019 to 2021, aggravated assaults jumped by one-third, and car-jackings — which the city only began tracking in fall 2020 — exploded. And the city’s crime problem has been compounded by a mass exodus of officers who cited post-traumatic stress after Floyd was killed, gutting the department of roughly one-third of its personnel.

    Some residents say the city can feel lawless at times. On July 4, police appeared unable to cope when troublemakers shot fireworks at other people, buildings and cars. That night sparked more than 1,300 911 calls. One witness described a firework being shot at one of the few police cars that responded.

    “Our city needs more police officers,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in August, while presenting a proposal to boost police funding in a push to increase officer numbers to more than 800 by 2025. Adding to the pressure: a court ruled in favor of residents who sued the city for not having the minimum number of officers required under the city’s charter.

    One of the six who attended the late summer presentation at the Minneapolis Police Academy was 36-year-old Cyrus Collins of suburban Lino Lakes, who identifies as mixed race.

    Collins sports a facial tattoo of an obscenity against police. He told The Associated Press that it is directed at the “evil ones,” such as those who killed Floyd and Breonna Taylor, who was shot to death by officers serving a search warrant in Louisville, Kentucky. The department said it has no policy governing tattoos.

    “I don’t want people of color to be against cops,” said Collins, who works as a pizza cook and a FedEx package distributor. “What other career would be doper to send that message than to be a Minneapolis police officer?”

    Also at the meeting was William Howard, a 29-year-old Black man who said he installs office furniture, writes stories for video games, and has only lived in Minneapolis for a few months. Howard said he has studied meditation and that he thinks it would be a useful skill when de-escalation is required.

    “I feel like I can bring more heart into the police force. Heart isn’t about power and control, it’s about courage and protecting people and serving people,” Howard said.

    But he was on the fence about applying. He has a 1-year-old son and worried about work-life balance and the dangers of the job.

    Frey’s proposed funding would cover an officer recruitment marketing campaign, an internship program for high school students, and four classes of police recruits each year, among other measures.

    Police spokesman Garrett Parten said the city is aware of the recruitment challenges it faces. Each class can accommodate up to 40 recruits, but only six were in the class that graduated in September. Only 57 people applied in 2022, down from 292 applicants in 2019.

    “You can scream as loud as you want, ‘Hire more people!’ but if fewer people are applying, then it’s not going to change the outcome much,” Parten said. “Across the country, recruitment has become an issue. There’s just fewer people that are applying for the job.”

    Statistics bear that out. Among 184 police agencies surveyed in the U.S. and Canada, the nonprofit Police Executive Research Forum found that resignations jumped by 43% from 2019 through 2021, and retirements jumped 24%. In the face of those departures, overall hiring fell by 4%.

    At an informational session for aspiring cadets in March, Matthew Hobbs, a training officer, thanked the attendees for simply being there.

    “In Minneapolis, with what we’ve been through for the last couple years, for you to be here and have an interest in law enforcement … I’m impressed with every one of you that’s here,” he said.

    Hobbs talked of how he felt the day after Floyd’s killing, when he and other officers were ordered to leave the precinct that protesters quickly took over and burned.

    “It was the worst day of my career. But even after that, I still love my job,” Hobbs said, urging attendees to apply. “It’s an incredible career.”

    Howard — the potential recruit with reservations — said later that he applied but did not make it past the oral exam. And Collins, who had talked about being a bridge between people of color and the police, said a last-minute trip forced him to miss a necessary oral exam. He plans to apply again later, he said.

    “I want to do something that I take pride in and give all my compassion to it,” Collins said. “I can’t figure out any other career — right now, in 2022, with all this stuff going on — than to be a cop.”

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    Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Trisha Ahmed on Twitter.

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    Find AP’s full coverage of the death of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

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  • State, cops seek to bar evidence in trial over Floyd killing

    State, cops seek to bar evidence in trial over Floyd killing

    MINNEAPOLIS — Prosecutors and defense attorneys for two former Minneapolis police officers charged in the killing of George Floyd have filed more than 100 motions to limit testimony or evidence at trial — with many requests relying heavily on what happened at the previous two trials in Floyd’s death.

    J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. With jury selection to begin Oct. 24, both sides are using what they learned in the prior trials to try to shape the proceeding in their favor. Hearings on the motions are scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

    Defense attorney Mike Brandt, who isn’t connected to the case, said it’s typical pretrial maneuvering for the two sides to guess what the other will introduce and try to gain an advantage. Kueng and Thao “have a better crystal ball,” he said.

    Kueng, Thao and Thomas Lane were working with Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, when Chauvin, who is white, used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck to the pavement for more than nine minutes as the 46-year-old Black man said he couldn’t breathe and eventually grew still. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, Lane held his legs and Thao kept bystanders back.

    Floyd’s killing was captured in bystander video and sparked worldwide protests as part of a reckoning over racial injustice.

    Many of the requests stem from what’s already happened in court. Tom Plunkett, Kueng’s attorney, wants the judge to bar the state’s witnesses from addressing jurors directly and from asking them to take actions as part of a demonstration, such as asking them to examine their own necks.

    That comes after one expert in Chauvin’s trial, lung and critical care specialist Dr. Martin Tobin, at one point loosened his tie, placed his hands on his own neck and encouraged jurors to do the same as he explained how he believed Floyd died. Jurors said later that Tobin provided some of the trial’s most compelling evidence.

    Tobin also narrated video of Floyd being held to the pavement and pinpointed what he said was the moment Floyd died. And paramedic Derek Smith testified that after checking for a pulse and not finding one: “In layman’s terms? I thought he was dead.” Bob Paule, an attorney for Thao, wants witnesses barred from referring to Floyd as dead until the time at which he was officially pronounced dead at a hospital. And Plunkett is asking that all non-physician testimony be limited to treatments and observations, not to Floyd’s cause of death or characterization about whether he was dead or alive.

    The state, meanwhile, wants to bar the defense from introducing evidence about the men’s characters and families. That request comes after the federal trial, in which the defendants or their family members talked about their backgrounds, their volunteerism, and how they overcame hardship – all evidence the state called irrelevant.

    The state also seeks to bar evidence about whether Chauvin was qualified to be a field training officer – after questions about that were raised during the federal trial as part of a defense strategy to blame the officers’ training for their actions that day.

    The defense wants witnesses barred from testifying in uniform unless they are testifying as part of their job. That comes after Genevieve Hansen, a firefighter who was off duty when she came upon Floyd’s arrest, testified in uniform at Chauvin’s trial. Paule said Hansen will be testifying as a bystander, and that having a person testify under oath while in uniform might lead a jury to improperly find them more trustworthy.

    The defense also wants an order barring witnesses from wearing signage, after another state witness, Donald Williams, wore a T-shirt under his dress shirt that said “Black Excellence,” according to the defense, and was visible to at least one juror. Paule also wants prosecutors to be barred from questioning Williams about his martial arts training and his understanding of a “blood choke” and how it affects breathing, saying Williams has no medical training.

    The defense wants to bar the state from questions that elicit emotional responses, as prosecutors did during Chauvin’s trial, and they want to bar prosecutors from calling juvenile bystanders as witnesses, including a girl who was 9 at the time.

    The defense says calling the child would further traumatize her, provoke emotions from the jury, and that her testimony has repeated what other bystanders said. The state has countered that the testimony of multiple bystanders is necessary, and that the varied people on the street – an older man, teenagers and a young girl – show it was not the dangerous crowd the defense tried to portray in Chauvin’s trial.

    They also said the fact that a 9-year-old girl knew Floyd was in distress demonstrates just how unreasonable the officers’ use of force was.

    Kueng, Thao and Lane were convicted in federal court earlier this year of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care. Thao and Kueng were convicted of a second count for failing to intervene and stop Chauvin.

    In July, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sentenced Kueng to three years in prison and Thao to 3½ years on the federal counts. They reported to federal custody on Tuesday: Thao, who is Hmong American, is being held in Lexington, Kentucky, and Kueng, who is Black, is in Lisbon, Ohio.

    Lane, who is white, avoided a state trial by pleading guilty in May to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to three years on the state conviction, and 2 1/2 years on the federal conviction. He is serving both sentences concurrently at a low-security federal prison camp in Littleton, Colorado.

    Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter and was given a 22 1/2-year state sentence in 2021. He also pleaded guilty to a federal count of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years on the federal charge. He is serving the sentences at the same time at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.

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    Find AP’s full coverage of the killing of George Floyd at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd

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