MINNEAPOLIS (AP/77WABC) — As the nation prepares for possible unrest with the NYPD being told be on the ready, prosecutors in former police Officer Derek Chauvin case presented their closing arguments. A memo obtained by the New York Post instructs NYPD officers there will be no unscheduled days off. The memo — effective Monday “until further notice” — is in preparation for any possible rioting following the trial verdict which is expected this week.
In a statement, the NYPD said the order was “necessary in order to satisfy personnel requirements for any post Derek Chauvin verdict protests.”
New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said the department has been preparing for nearly a year for possible protests in response to a verdict in the Chauvin case, including training officers, reviewing tactics and performing tabletop exercises.
In Minneapolis, thousands of members of the National Guard have been brought in and schools are moving to remote learning.
Officer Derek Chauvin “had to know” he was squeezing the life out of George Floyd as the Black man cried out over and over that he couldn’t breathe and finally fell silent, a prosecutor told jurors Monday as closing arguments began at Chauvin’s murder trial.
Floyd was “just a man, lying on the pavement, being pressed upon, desperately crying out. A grown man crying out for his dead mother. A human being,” prosecutor Steve Schleicher said as he sought to convince the racially diverse jury that Chauvin’s actions as he pinned Floyd to the pavement with his knee were reckless, unreasonable and criminal. Eyewitness cell phone video shows Chauvin pressing down on or close to Floyd’s neck for up to 9 minutes, 29 seconds, as bystanders yelled at the officer to get off. Chauvin threatened to mace anyone who intervened.
Minneapolis remains on edge due to the Chauvin trial as well as the recent death of 20 year old Daunte Wright, also killed by police.
The defense for the now-fired white officer contends Floyd put himself at risk by using fentanyl and methamphetamine, then resisted officers trying to arrest him — factors the defense alleges combined with his heart disease to lead to his death.
