Chauvin Bail $1.25 Million; N.J. Shooting Probed: Protest Update
The City Council in Minneapolis, where George Floyd died in police custody, pledged to begin dismantling its police force.
(Bloomberg) -- Congressional Democrats proposed a sweeping police reform bill, hoping to turn energy from nationwide protests over racial injustice and police misconduct into concrete legal changes that could make it easier to prosecute and sue law enforcement officers. A judge set bail at $1.25 million for Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged in George Floyd’s death.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced a grand jury will investigate the shooting death of an unarmed black man by a state trooper on May 23, two days before Floyd was killed.
The New York legislature is expected to pass a criminal-justice bill this week that would ban police chokeholds and allow the release of police disciplinary records. France said it would abandon police chokeholds, too, as Floyd’s death sparked anger over French police tactics.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio credited the curfew and police tactics with keeping the city calm Sunday night. The NYPD arrested 2,500 people over the previous 10 days, but none Sunday.
Key Developments:
All times are local to New York:
Biden Campaign Praises Democrats’ Police Reform Package (7:56 p.m.)
Congressional Democrats’ policing legislation, responding to the death of George Floyd, “includes a number of provisions that VP Biden fully supports, including many that he has called for in the past week,” campaign spokesman TJ Ducklo said in an emailed statement. Among them:
- Banning chokeholds
- Model use of force standard
- Disaggregating force data by race, sex, disability, religion and age
- Changes aimed at boosting reviews of potential wrongdoing, including subpoena power for the Justice Department for pattern or practice investigations, and efforts to ensure independence of prosecutors in cases with police-involved deaths
Timeline of Police Clash That Cleared Park for Trump’s Church Visit (7:39 p.m.)
The Washington Post reconstructed the timeline of one of the post prominent and second-guessed incidents in the global protests to date -- the afternoon of June 1 when law enforcement cleared protesters near Lafayette Square and enabled President Donald Trump to hold a photo op at nearby St. John’s Church.
Boris Johnson Cites U.K. Gains Against Racism (7:27 p.m.)
The U.K. has made “huge strides” and is a “much less racist” society than in the past, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a video message posted on Twitter.
Responding to the uproar caused by the death of George Floyd in the U.S., Johnson acknowledged that there was much more to do in eradicating prejudice and creating opportunity. “You are right, we are all right, to say ‘Black Lives Matter,’” Johnson said in the video.
However, he also cautioned against a second wave of coronavirus infections and added that he wouldn’t support those who flout social-distancing rules or break laws at a time when the country has made “ huge progress.”
Texas Weighs ‘Floyd Act’ to Curb Police Violence (5:59 p.m.)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott raised the idea of a “George Floyd Act” that legislators could consider in the next session that begins in January. Abbott traveled to Houston Monday to attend Floyd’s public memorial and privately express condolences to the family.
The governor, a Republican, said in a statement he is “committed” to working with Floyd’s family and lawmakers to prevent police brutality.
“Texas has a legacy of success, whether it be the Timothy Cole Act, the Sandra Bland Act and now maybe the George Floyd Act to make sure that we prevent police brutality like this from happening in the future in Texas,” he said.
St. Paul Man Charged in Police Station Arson (5:39 p.m.)
The U.S. attorney in Minneapolis filed a criminal complaint against Branden Michael Wolfe, 23, charging him with aiding and abetting arson at the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct on May 28. Wolfe is scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday at 1 p.m. local time in St. Paul.
When arrested, Wolfe was wearing multiple items stolen from the precinct, including body armor, a police-issue duty belt with handcuffs, an earphone piece, baton and knife, the U.S. attorney said. He had been employed as a security guard at a local home-improvement store, but was fired after referring to social media posts about stealing items from the precinct.
According to the U.S. attorney, law enforcement officials searching Wolfe’s apartment recovered additional items belonging to the police department, including a riot helmet, a 9mm pistol magazine, a police radio, and a police-issue overdose kit.
New Orleans Police Admit Firing Projectiles (4:50 p.m.)
The New Orleans Police Department acknowledged Monday that officers had fired projectiles at protesters Wednesday night after an initial denial, according to Nola.com. Governor John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, said at a news conference that he was aware of the incident and an investigation but didn’t comment beyond that.
He called the protesters’ concerns “entirely legitimate,” and said “they shouldn’t have to worry about the hand of law enforcement being too heavy.”
Writer’s Union Wants Police Out of AFL-CIO (4:45 p.m.)
A writer’s union is urging the AFL-CIO to kick out a police union, heightening pressure on the labor federation over its role in the national reckoning about police misconduct.
By a unanimous vote, the Writers Guild of America East passed a resolution Monday calling for the AFL-CIO to cut ties with one of its affiliates, the International Union of Police Associations. The resolution says that the organizations “wield their collective bargaining power as a cudgel, preventing reforms and accountability” and undermining safety.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has rejected calls to kick out the cops, saying the best way to use the federation’s influence “is to engage with our police affiliates rather than isolate them.”
Georgia Companies Back Hate-Crimes Law (4:15 p.m.)
Many of Georgia’s most powerful corporations urged state lawmakers to adopt a “comprehensive, specific and clear” hate-crimes law when they return to the legislative session next week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The letter, signed by about 70 corporate executives, was the sharpest signal yet that state business leaders were forcefully rallying behind legislation that imposes additional penalties on crimes proven to have been motivated by bias.
Miami-Dade Lifts Countywide Curfew (4:05 p.m.)
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez is lifting a countywide 9 p.m. curfew Monday that had been implemented amid protests over the death of Floyd. Gimenez is also opening beaches Wednesday for the first time since they were shut in March to limit the spread of Covid-19.
The beaches, an engine of the tourist economy in Florida’s most populous county, had been expected to open days earlier, but the reopening was delayed as protests spread to Florida.
Raleigh was among a number of North Carolina cities that also lifted their curfews. And Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said his emergency order authorizing a state of emergency and mobilizing the National Guard would expire Monday night.
N.J. Trooper’s Fatal Shooting of Black Man Probed (3:15 p.m.)
A grand jury will investigate the shooting death of a black man by New Jersey state police on May 23, two days before George Floyd was killed when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Governor Phil Murphy said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal on Monday will release footage of the shooting death of Maurice Gordon, an unarmed 28-year-old, by an unidentified state trooper on the Garden State Parkway. Grewal has completed an initial investigation, Murphy said.
Chauvin’s Bail Raised to $1.25 Million (2:29 p.m.)
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder in the death of Floyd, didn’t enter a plea in his first court appearance Monday and his bail was set as high as $1.25 million.
Appearing before Hennepin County District Court Judge Jeannice Reding remotely from a maximum-security facility in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, Chauvin didn’t post bail, which was set by Reding at either $1.25 million without conditions or $1 million with conditions. He will likely enter a plea at his second court appearance, scheduled for June 29.
Chauvin may be released on $1 million bail if he agrees to have no contact with Floyd’s family; not work in law enforcement or security; and not possess any firearms plus surrender any firearm licenses or permits.
Chauvin was recorded kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed Floyd for more than eight minutes. Three additional former Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder in connection to Floyd’s death -- J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao -- will make their first court appearances June 29.
Chicago Needs Faster Police Reform, Mayor Says (2:20 p.m.)
Chicago transitioned to mostly peaceful protests over the weekend, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, but she reiterated the need for deeper and faster reforms to the city’s police department. The agency since early 2019 has been part of a so-called consent decree, with an independent monitor overseeing public safety.
Over the past nine days, the Chicago Police Department has made thousands of arrests and recovered hundreds of guns, said Superintendent David Brown.
N.Y. Weighs Release of Police Disciplinary Records (2:10 p.m.)
New York’s legislature is on track to pass criminal-justice bills this week that would allow the release of police disciplinary records, ban chokeholds, and require the State Police to wear body cameras.
Chokeholds by law enforcement would become a Class C felony, and a new Office of Special Investigation would be created under the state attorney general to prosecute deaths caused by a police or peace officer.
“If they pass the bills that we’ve discussed, I will sign the bills and I will sign them as soon as they’re passed,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said at his daily briefing.
State Senate and Assembly majority leaders said their houses plan to take up the measures this week, with votes to begin Monday.
Curfew Spared NYC from Looting, Mayor Says (12:08 p.m)
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio credited a curfew and police department tactics with keeping the city calm Sunday night after a week of looting and sometimes violent confrontations between officers and demonstrators.
De Blasio lifted the curfew Sunday after a quiet Saturday night and pleas from leaders of the City Council and civil rights activists -- and a public letter signed by more than 200 former and current members of his administration. None of the thousands of protesters out on Sunday night were arrested, according to the NYPD’s information office. Police arrested about 2,500 over the previous 10 days -- most of them curfew violators protesting Floyd’s death.
“We did not bring in the National Guard. We did not use some of the tactics other cities used like rubber bullets, tear gas, mounted police. But I want to do a lot better going forward, and we will,” the mayor said during a news briefing.
After two days without looting, arson or vandalism, the city’s Phase One reopening after 100 days of lockdown could continue as planned, he said, “because we contained it with the curfew and the other actions.”
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