Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D), who has taken over the criminal case in the death of George Floyd, said Monday he is “serious about justice and will pursue it.”
A week ago, Floyd died in police custody after an officer knelt on his neck in a scene captured on video that has stirred a nation into a days-long protest and uprising that show no sign of stopping.
In an interview with SiriusXM host Joe Madison, Ellison said he will launch a comprehensive review of the video footage and audio tapes, considering all of the evidence in the case before advancing with any hasty charging decisions.
Former police officer Derek Chauvin, who used his knee to pin Floyd’s neck against the ground for close to nine minutes as Floyd pleaded that he couldn’t breathe and then fell silent and motionless, has already been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The other three officers were fired last Tuesday but have not been charged. Some protesters are vowing not to yield until charges have been issued against the remaining officers.
Ellison said any further charges will proceed “based on the facts that we can prove.”
“I don’t deny that your eyes are working well and you saw what you saw,” Ellison said. But that doesn’t mean that when we get to a courtroom that it’s going to be some sort of easy slam dunk. History proves that it isn’t.”
I like Ellison for this role and moment.
He won’t shrink from the fight and doesn’t have the historical connection to police. He can be seen a a fair arbiter of the charges and approach.
Brian Schatz has a good beginning, to stop the ludicrous militarization of the police! Stop giving older military equipment for free from the Pentagon to the police all over the country. He’s put out an amendment to the National Defense Re-authorization act that would bar the practice.
Right now the over-militarization of the police is very much a factor in their violence: to them, WE the people are enemy combatants and must be put down; like a soldier in battle they kill with impunity.
This is entirely wrong. It started under Bush as his war veterans began joining police forces. I recall hearing that his military had block by block plans on how to control every neighborhood in the US. Demilitarizing the police has got to be the first step.
I am NOT a big supporter of Ellison. He almost cost the D’s the MN AG seat. But in this case, he is the man for the job, and hopefully can take action, and do so quickly, to make up for the total and complete failure of the Hennipan County DA Freedman, whose inaction and then horrible coded statements caused the riots to spread.
Overcharging the police officers who killed George Floyd would be a mistake. It would be impossible to establish premeditation with first degree murder indictments. George Zimmerman got off in the Trayvon Martin homicide because the prosecution overreached.
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I got $5 that says Trump pardons Derek Chauvin. Count on it.