MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Barbed wire and concrete barriers surround the courthouse where the former Minneapolis police officer charged with the murder of George Floyd will soon go on trial, a sign of the deep unrest that has literally set a city on fire a year ago in anger over his death.
Mayor Jacob Frey and Gov. Tim Walz, both Democrats, have been sharply criticized for not moving faster to stop last summer’s looting and destruction, which set fire to a police station. Anything less than a murder conviction for Derek Chauvin is likely to test them – and the city – again.
The jury’s selection begins on March 8 with opening statements on March 29th. Floyd, who was Black, died on May 25 after Chauvin, who was white, pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck while handcuffed, pleading he could not breathe. Chauvin faces second-degree murder and manslaughter; three other sacked officers will go on trial in August.
Thousands of people took to the streets of Minneapolis after Floyd’s death. Many protested peacefully. But for quite a few nights, the unrest turned violent, with shops looted and set on fire along the commercial street of Lake Street, which includes the 3rd police station, which was home to the officers who arrested Floyd. The station itself was eventually abandoned by police and burned by rioters. Some nervous neighborhoods formed guard groups, setting up checkpoints and sometimes armed patrols. The violence finally subsided after the national guards arrived in sufficient numbers.
As the city moves to make the courthouse virtually impenetrable, some people are worried about what might happen elsewhere if Chauvin is acquitted.
Elias Usso’s pharmacy in Lake Street was open less than a year ago when it was destroyed by fire and water. He personally blames Chauvin for what he considers to be “the murder of an innocent man” as well as the destruction that followed – in Minneapolis alone estimated at more than $ 350 million.
“One police officer did it,” Usso said. “Something needs to change.”
His Seward pharmacy was reopened with the help of donors. Meanwhile, customers have been vaccinated against COVID-19, Usso – an immigrant from Ethiopia and a black man – says he still feels the emotional turmoil over Floyd’s death and the turmoil, and his concerns about the trial.
“I do not know what will happen to my business. We are waiting to see, ”said Usso. ‘But I will continue to serve our neighbors and to prescribe to grandparents. If something happens, we move on. ”
Frey said more than 3,000 state police officers from across the state and Minnesota National Guard soldiers will be ready when the case is presented to the jury, which is expected in late April or early May.
Frey declared last week that Minneapolis is ‘open for business’, saying that people should work as usual.
But the security surrounding the Hennepin County courthouse, the town hall and the jail – in the heart of the city center – is extraordinary. It contains three rings of concrete barriers, two of which are fenced with chain links, with a bowl in between filled with rolls of razor wire. The inner fence is covered with barbed wire, and the windows on the ground floor at all three buildings are on board.
Protest leaders are also on the move. They accuse the authorities of creating a police state in the city center that could trample on their freedom of speech and assembly.
“It’s not going to stop us from protesting. We are determined to make our voices heard, ”said Linden Gawboy, an activist with the Twin Cities Coalition 4 Justice 4 Jamar, which emerged after the 2015 assassination of Jamar Clark in Minneapolis.
It is not just the court that is being barred. The State Capitol in St. Paul has been surrounded by temporary fences since last summer’s turmoil. Inside, lawmakers have been wrestling for weeks over providing extra state money for security during the trials, though Walz and other officials say they will somehow manage.
“There will be a lot of emotion on all sides of this, and we will be prepared,” Walz said.
Julie Ingebretsen, owner of a Scandinavian food and gift market in Lake Street, founded by her Norwegian grandfather, said she does not go on board, although she expects some will be in the mile-long commercial corridor that many immigrants and include minority enterprises. . Some have never picked up the plywood they put up last summer.
While Ingebretsen’s Nordic Marketplace was looted and vandalized, she said she was happy that her shop was not burned. She said she now feels “cautiously optimistic” about personal efforts by Medaria Arradondo, police chief, and other city officials, and their assurance that there will be enough police and guard members.
“We are celebrating our 100th anniversary this year, so we plan to celebrate another 100 and go nowhere,” Ingebretsen said. “We are absolutely committed to continuing.”