ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) – Dozens of people gathered in front of the Minnesota Governor’s mansion on Saturday to demand police accountability, days before a former Minneapolis officer was tried for the death of George Floyd.
Many of the approximately 150 people who demonstrated in Minnesota were relatives of others who died during meetings with the police. Similar protests were being organized in cities across the country before the trial of Derek Chauvin.
Floyd, a black man, died on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck while Floyd was kept face down on the handcuffed floor, saying he could not breathe. Time records with camera provided by prosecutors show that Chauvin held his position for about nine minutes, even after Floyd stopped moving. Floyd was later declared dead in a hospital.
Chauvin is charged with manslaughter and manslaughter, and the jury’s choice at his trial begins on Monday.
Saturday’s protest in Minnesota was organized by Families Supporting Families Against Police Violence, a coalition of families that lost loved ones in police clashes. The Star Tribune reports that speakers said that, in the light of Floyd’s death, they want other fatal police encounters to be reopened and examined.