George Floyd protests: Experienced judge assigned to officers’ cases in Floyd death

Protests over racism and police violence continue nationwide, fueled by outrage over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed last month while in the custody of Minneapolis police.

Authorities have arrested four Minneapolis police officers -- Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng and Tou Thao -- in connection with his death. The officers have since been fired.

Floyd, 46, died on Memorial Day after police were called to investigate a report of a man trying to use what looked like a counterfeit $20. Video of his death caught by bystanders and shared on social media showed Chauvin holding his knee to Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as Floyd pleaded for air.

Live updates for Friday, June 12 continue below:

Majority-black county seeks to move Confederate monument

Update 10:50 p.m. EDT June 12: Officials in a majority-black Alabama county said Friday that they hope to permanently remove a now-covered Confederate memorial erected more than a century ago in the town square.

Macon County Commission Chairman Louis Maxwell said at a news conference that officials are researching ways to move the statue that sits in the town square of Tuskegee. Crews covered up the base of the statue after it was vandalized with anti-Ku Klux Klan graffiti last week.

“The end objective is to have the statue relocated,” Maxwell said. “We don’t have a problem with preserving it. I don’t want it destroyed. If somebody wants it, we’ll give it to them.”

Maxwell acknowledged that there will be a cost involved. A 2017 state law prohibits the removal of Confederate and other longstanding monuments. The mayor of Birmingham has said the potential $25,000 state fine for removing a Confederate monument was worth the cost.

Johns Hopkins delays implementation of new police force

Update 9:20 p.m. EDT June 12: Johns Hopkins University, a thriving private research institution with one of the world’s foremost medical schools, is suspending the creation of a new armed police force similar to those patrolling numerous other U.S. colleges and universities.

University leaders announced Friday that the ongoing civil unrest related to police violence had led the school to delay implementing the Johns Hopkins Police Department for at least two years.

The school announced plans to create its own police force last year, sparking debate between those who want to increase campus safety as Baltimore struggles with violent crime and those who fear police profiling.

The announcement comes amid widespread calls for police reform in response to the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes.

Experienced judge assigned to officers’ cases in Floyd death

Update 8:55 p.m. EDT June 12: The cases of the four Minneapolis police officers who face charges in the death of George Floyd have been assigned to a Hennepin County judge who has experience as both a defense attorney and a prosecutor.

Judge Peter Cahill has been assigned to oversee the cases of Derek Chauvin, J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. All four are scheduled to appear before him at 12:15 p.m. on June 29, according to a court filing Friday.

Defense attorneys have 10 days to file a request to remove Cahill as the judge. They would have no say in who replaces him and they could not remove his replacement, the Star Tribune reported.

Earl Gray, Lane’s attorney, told The Associated Press he wouldn’t think of removing Cahill. When asked if all four officers will face trial together or ask to be tried separately, Gray said that issue hasn’t been discussed yet, but it will be now that a judge has been assigned.

Attorneys for Chauvin and Kueng had no comment. Messages left with Thao’s attorney were not immediately returned Friday.

Floyd, a black man who was handcuffed, died May 25 after Chauvin, a white officer, used his knee to pin Floyd to the ground. Chauvin, who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck even after Floyd stopped moving, has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Lane, Kueng and Thao have been charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four officers have been fired.

Cahill began his career in the county public defender’s office in 1984, the Star Tribune reported. He also worked for 10 years in the county attorney’s office, serving as the top advisor to Sen. Amy Klobuchar when she was the county’s head prosecutor.

He has been a judge since 2007 and has experience in high-profile cases. He has also served as the county’s chief judge.

Police disciplinary records are largely kept secret in US

Update 7:50 p.m. EDT June 12: Officer Derek Chauvin had more than a dozen misconduct complaints against him before he put his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Daniel Pantaleo, the New York City officer who seized Eric Garner in a deadly chokehold, had eight. Ryan Pownall, a Philadelphia officer facing murder charges in the shooting of David Jones, had 15 over five years.

But the public didn’t know about any of that until the victims’ deaths.

Citizen complaints against police across the U.S. are largely kept secret, either under the law or by union contract — a practice some criminal justice experts say deprives the public of information that could be used to root out problem officers before it’s too late.

In recent years, there have been dozens of examples of officers who had numerous complaints against them of excessive force, harassment or other misconduct before they were accused of killing someone on duty.

Confidentiality “makes it really tough for the public to know just who it is they are dealing with and to know whether their department or any particular officer is one they would want out in the streets,” said David Harris, a University of Pittsburgh law professor who studies police behavior.

While the U.S. considers ways to reform American policing following the sometimes violent protests that erupted nationwide over Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, complaint data is getting renewed attention as a way to track and correct rogue officers and perhaps head off more serious instances of brutality.

Both Democratic and Republican reform bills in Congress would make officers’ disciplinary records public and create a national database of allegations — a shift in political will that didn’t exist just a few years ago.

Police advocates argue that withholding allegations is necessary to protect officers’ privacy and keep them safe. Police unions have fought in contract negotiations and in state legislatures for confidentiality. In some cases, records are erased after as little as two years.

“The unfettered release of police personnel records will allow unstable people to target police officers and our families for harassment or worse,” said Patrick Lynch, head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association in New York City. “A dangerous cop-hater only needs a police officer’s name, linked to a few false or frivolous complaints, to be inspired to commit violence.”

Personal information on officers is already being leaked online, according to an intelligence document from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, obtained by The Associated Press.

Police unions argue, too, that the overwhelming majority of complaints are deemed unsubstantiated after internal investigations. But that argument carries no weight with the many activists who say police departments tend to protect their own.

Judge orders Seattle to stop using tear gas during protests

Update 6:30 p.m. EDT June 12: Seattle Federal District Judge Richard Jones on Friday granted a temporary restraining order against the Seattle Police Department’s use of tear gas against peaceful protesters.

The temporary restraining order will last for 14 days and is a victory for groups who say authorities overreacted to recent demonstrations over police brutality and racial injustice.

A Black Lives Matter group sued the Seattle Police Department this week to halt the tactics it has used to break up largely peaceful protests in recent days.

The temporary restraining order also prevents officers from using OC spray, also known as pepper spray, and “any projectile such as and including flash-bang grenades, ‘pepper balls,’ ‘blast balls,’ rubber bullets, and foam-tip projectiles.”

The temporary restraining order does not prevent officers from “taking necessary, reasonable, proportional, and targeted action to protect against a specific imminent threat of physical harm to themselves or identifiable others or to respond to specific acts of violence or destruction of property.”

‘Black Lives Matter’ replaces player names on EPL jerseys

Update 5:20 p.m. EDT June 12: English Premier League jerseys will feature “Black Lives Matter” instead of player names for the first 12 games after the competition’s shutdown ends on Wednesday.

The movement’s campaign logo will then feature elsewhere on jerseys through the July 26 conclusion of the pandemic-delayed season as players decided to highlight racial injustice following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

The Premier League also announced it would support players taking a knee at matches — a gesture already seen at training grounds since Floyd died after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck as he pleaded for air.

“We, the players, stand together with the singular objective of eradicating racial prejudice wherever it exists, to bring about a global society of inclusion, respect, and equal opportunities for all, regardless of their colour or creed,” the squads said in a joint statement on Friday.

NCAA encourages day off from college sports on election day

Update 4:40 p.m. EDT June 12: The NCAA is encouraging its 1,100 member colleges and universities to give athletes the day off from sports on election day.

In response to nationwide protests of police brutality and racial injustice, Georgia Tech announced earlier this week it was giving nine fall sports teams a day off from athletic activities on Nov. 3 so athletes can vote in person. UCLA followed with a similar announcement.

At other schools, coaches and players have organized team-wide voter registration efforts, marches and rallies.

The protest were sparked by the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes.

The NCAA did not mandate a day off for athletes on election day, but instead encouraged schools to assist students in registering to vote and give them a day off from athletics.

Kentucky commission votes to remove Jefferson Davis statue from Capitol

Update 3:05 p.m. EDT June 12: A state commission voted Friday to remove a statue of Jefferson Davis from the state’s Capitol, according to multiple reports.

The state’s Historic Properties Advisory Commission voted 11-1 to remove the statue of Davis, who had been president of the short-lived Confederacy, from the Capitol Rotunda, the Courier Journal reported.

The decision came one day after Beshear asked that a special meeting be held to determine whether to remove the statue, WLKY reported.

“It is long past due to remove a statue that some kids who come into this Capitol, a Capitol supposed to be the people’s house and there for everybody, see as a symbol that they don’t matter,” he said, according to WLKY.

It was not immediately clear when the statue would be removed, although the Courier Journal reported that crews were seen preparing for the move on Friday.

Confederate statue removed from monument in Virginia

Update 2:40 p.m. EDT June 12: Officials in Norfolk, Virginia, removed a statue known as Johnny Reb from the top of the city’s Confederate Monument as a precaution Friday as protesters demanding an end to racism and police brutality have begun toppling Confederate monuments in cities nationwide.

Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander had announced plans Thursday to remove the statue from the monument downtown over fears that its presence could lead to injury or violence, city officials said in a news release.

Officials plan to hold a public hearing July 7 to discuss the future of the statue.

Trump says chokeholds should be banned

Update 2:05 p.m. EDT June 12: President Donald Trump told Fox News on Friday that he doesn’t like chokeholds but that he believes they could be warranted by police officers in some cases.

“I don’t like chokeholds,” Trump said, though he later added that he thinks "the concept of chokeholds sounds so innocent, so perfect.” Trump said during an interview that aired Friday. He said he thought policies allowing police to use chokeholds “generally speaking ... should be ended.”

“Sometimes if you are alone and fighting somebody, it is tough," the president said. "You get somebody in a chokehold, what are you going to do? And it’s a real bad person, and you know that, and they do exist. I mean, we have some real bad people.”

Several city, state and local officials have announced bans on chokeholds in recent days as protesters take to the streets nationwide to demand police accountability and an end to racism after George Floyd’s death. He and several other unarmed Black men have died in recent years at least in part due to chokeholds used by police.

Clemson University to remove name of pro-slavery politician

Update 1:40 p.m. EDT June 12: Clemson University trustees voted Friday to rename the school’s honors college, stripping off the name of former vice president and slavery proponent John C. Calhoun.

The university’s board also publicly requested permission from the state legislature to change the name of Tillman Hall back to its original name, the Main building. The iconic campus building currently honors “Pitchfork” Ben Tillman, the governor and U.S. senator who used virulent racism to dominate South Carolina politics after Reconstruction.

Other than removing the Confederate flag from state House grounds after a deadly attack on nine black Charleston church members in 2015, lawmakers have refused to take up any major changes of Confederate monuments. Change requires a two-thirds vote of both the House and Senate.

Trustees cited the recent death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which has spurred protests over racial injustice and police brutality across the country, as an impetus for the renaming. The honors program will now be called the “Clemson University Honors College.”

Calhoun, who was born in South Carolina, declared slavery a “positive good” on the U.S. Senate floor in 1837. Tillman led a white mob in 1876 that killed several black men in Hamburg, an Aiken County town where freed slaves had settled.

Following recent protests over racial injustice and police brutality, activists have renewed calls to remove monuments and rename buildings honoring the Confederacy, slavery and white supremacy across the state.

Clemson’s honors college was established in 1962 and named after Calhoun in 1981, and the university maintains Calhoun’s plantation home Fort Hill on campus.

Florida sheriff’s deputy resigns after backlash over comments on social media

Update 1:05 p.m. EDT June 12: A sheriff’s deputy in Brevard County, Florida, has resigned after he invited officers who have been disciplined or resigned from troubled police departments to apply for jobs in Florida, WFTV reported.

Lt. Robert Gamin, who is president of the Brevard Fraternal Order of Police, apologized earlier this week amid backlash over his comments. According to WFTV, Gamin had invited officers from Minneapolis, Atlanta and Buffalo, New York, to apply to agencies in Florida, noting that the state has “lower taxes (and) no spineless leadership, conflicting orders or dumb mayors rambling on at press conference."

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey announced Friday that Gamin, who had been with the Sheriff’s Office for 26 years, resigned after Ivey made it clear he planned to fire Gamin.

>> Read more on WFTV.com

New York governor signs police reform legislation

Update 12:15 p.m. EDT June 12: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday signed new police reform legislation that will ban authorities from using chokeholds and repeal a decades-old law that kept officials from releasing the disciplinary records of officer to the public.

The move comes as protesters demand police accountability and an end to racism in demonstrations nationwide.

“Police reform is long overdue and Mr. Floyd’s murder is just the most recent murder,” Cuomo said Friday at a news conference. “The New York State Legislature has quickly passed the most aggressive reforms in the nation. They got it done and they got it done quickly.”

Starbucks will allow baristas to wear Black Lives Matter apparel after backlash

Update 12:05 p.m. EDT June 12: Officials with Starbucks announced Friday that the coffee chain will allow employee to wear shirts and accessories in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, reversing course days after reports surfaced that Starbucks would not allow employees to wear such apparel.

“We see you. We hear you. Black Lives Matter. That is a fact and will never change,” company officials said in a letter published online Friday. “This movement is a catalyst for change, and right now, it’s telling us a lot of things need to be addressed so we can make space to heal.”

Earlier this week, BuzzFeed News reported that Starbucks had barred its baristas from wearing Black Lives Matter attire due to the company’s dress code, which prohibits employees from wearing clothes and accessories that are political or religious. Employees questioned the decision, telling BuzzFeed News that the company has previously allowed baristas to wear buttons and clothes celebrating marriage equality and LGBTQ rights.

In an internal memo obtained by BuzzFeed, company officials said they feared that “agitators who misconstrue the fundamental principles” of the Black Lives Matter movement might use that to "amplify divisiveness.'

On Friday, Starbucks’ Chief Operating Officer, Roz Brewer, Diversity Officer Zing Shaw and Executive Vice President Rossann Williams announced that the company is producing t-shirts for staff members “to demonstrate our allyship and show we stand together in unity." The shirts include the slogans “Black Lives Matter,” “Everyone vs. Racism,” “No Justice No Peace” and other protest slogans.

“Until these arrive, we’ve heard you want to show your support, so just be you. Wear your BLM pin or t-shirt,” company officials said. “We trust you to do what’s right while never forgetting Starbucks is a welcoming third place where all are treated with dignity and respect.”

Boston mayor declares racism a public health crisis, reallocates funds from police OT budget

Update 11:25 a.m. EDT June 12: Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Friday declared racism a public health crisis in the city and announced plans to immediately transfer $3 million from the police overtime budget to the Public Health Commission, WFXT reported.

Walsh on Friday called racism “a slow moving disaster that hurts communities and individuals over the course of a lifetime.”

“This is the beginning (of efforts to address racial equality), not the end,” he said, according to WFXT. He said that on the day of George Floyd’s death May 25 at the hands of Minneapolis police, “the public conversation changed.”

“Young people refused and still refuse to accept the injustices of the past,” he said. “I’ve been listening to that movement. I’ve been listening to black Americans and people of color in my life, on my team."

>> Read more on Boston25News.com

Columbus statue taken down in Camden, New Jersey

Update 10:35 a.m. EDT June 12: A New Jersey city near Philadelphia has taken down a statue of Christopher Columbus, joining others across the country.

The city of Camden released a statement Thursday evening calling the statue in Farnham Park a “controversial symbol” that has “long pained residents of the community.”

Protesters mobilized by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police have called for the removal of statues of Columbus. They say the Italian explorer is responsible for the genocide and exploitation of native peoples in the Americas.

Video from local news outlets showed the statue coming down Thursday night. The city’s statement says “a plan to reexamine these outdated symbols of racial division and injustices” is overdue. The majority of Camden residents are people of color.

Statues of Columbus have also been toppled or vandalized in cities such as Miami; Richmond, Virginia; St. Paul, Minnesota, and Boston, where one was decapitated.

Protesters host cookout at Washington state Capitol

Update 10 a.m. EDT June 12: Hundreds of people gathered Thursday at the Washington state Capitol to share a meal while demanding change in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, KIRO-TV reported.

The crowd erupted in applause as speakers passionately promised they wouldn’t back down until there’s change according to KIRO-TV.

“We are not going to be quiet," Cookout at the Capitol organizer Erin Sarvis said. "We are not going to apologize for who we are. We are going to stand up for what’s right and we believe that everybody has a right at life.”

The demonstration included food fresh off a charcoal grill, KIRO-TV reported.

"I figured if we feed the people while they’re yelling, give them some energy and soul, then they’ll be able to keep on yelling,” Sarvis said.

>> Read more on KIRO7.com

Florida State Attorney drops charges against 48 protesters

Update 9:50 a.m. EDT June 12: Officials with the Florida State Attorney’s Office on Friday announced it has dropped charges against 48 people arrested for unlawful assembly or resisting without violence during a May 31 protest in Jacksonville, Florida, WOKV reported.

Assistant State Attorney John Gardiner Kalinowki said in a statement obtained by WOKV that officials made the decision after reviewing arrest and booking reports, applicable law and videos taken during the day, including aerial footage shot by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

"Based upon the law, the facts, and the circumstances involved, this office declines to file charges on each of the cases”, Kalinowki said.

>> Read more on WOKV.com

Boston police ban neck restraints except for when dealing with imminent threat

Update 9:15 a.m. EDT June 12: Boston police announced changes to the Department’s use of force policy Thursday as protesters continued to call for a redistribution of money used to fund police departments at demonstrations nationwide.

In a statement obtained by WFXT, Boston police said they were updating the Department’s use of force policies to include a ban on all neck restraints, except in cases when deadly force is deemed necessary because a person is considered an “imminent threat.” Officers will be required to give a verbal warning before using deadly force, WFXT reported.

Police also clarified the Department’s policy on intervention, adding that officers must intervene if they see an officer using excessive and unnecessary force, according to WFXT.

>> Read more on Boston25News.com

Louisville passes ‘Breonna’s Law’ banning no-knock warrants

Update 7:15 a.m. EDT June 12: The Louisville Metro Council unanimously passed a ban on the use of no-knock warrants late Thursday, called Breonna’s Law in honor of a woman shot and killed in her apartment by local authorities in March.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer vowed to sign the ban into law as soon as the measure hits his desk, saying “risk to residents and officers with this kind of search outweigh any benefit.”

Read more here.

‘I can’t breathe’: Police release video of 2019 Oklahoma arrest of black man who died in custody

Update 5:59 a.m. EDT June 12: Newly released video of a 2019 Oklahoma arrest shows police officers struggling to subdue a black man who repeatedly stated “I can’t breathe” and died within an hour of being taken into custody, multiple media outlets reported.

The Oklahoma City Police Department released body camera footage this week of the May 20, 2019, takedown and arrest of Derrick Scott, 42, following reports of an individual brandishing a firearm, The New York Times reported.

Capt. Larry Withrow said during a Tuesday news conference that Scott had a loaded gun in his pocket when the arrest was made and that no wrongdoing has been found on the part of the officers involved. Scott can also clearly be seen attempting to flee the arrest at one point, which resulted in his being tackled to the ground.

In the video, however, Scott can be heard telling officers “I can’t breathe” multiple times during the altercation, and at least one officer can be heard responding, “I don’t care.”

Read more here.

Apple commits $100M to racial justice initiative

Update 3:57 a.m. EDT June 12: Apple plans to spend $100 million on a new company initiative dedicated to racial justice, CEO Tim Cook announced in a video posted Thursday on Twitter.

“Growing up in Alabama during the civil rights movement, I saw firsthand that the only thing that ever made lasting and durable change was people of goodwill putting aside comfort and safety to speak up to march to call for accountability and to do what they could to make a flawed society more perfect,” Cook said.

Watch the full statement below.

US defense secretary orders review of recent National Guard deployments

Update 3:40 a.m. EDT June 12: U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered a review of the National Guard’s support of law enforcement across the country during recent demonstrations protesting the death of George Floyd, CNN reported.

According to a Pentagon news release, the review, considered standard procedure following any significant operation, will evaluate the National Guard’s work with federal and local law enforcement in recent weeks, focusing specifically on training, organization and deployment of forces, the network reported.

"In recent weeks, the National Guard has performed professionally and capably in support of law enforcement in cities across the United States," Esper said in the statement.

"I have the greatest respect for, and am deeply proud of, our Soldiers and Airmen who served during this period to ensure that peaceful protestors could execute their First Amendment rights, and that they and others would not suffer from violence against themselves and their property,” he added.

According to CNN, the report’s findings are expected to be submitted to Esper by the end of July, the Pentagon said.

NFL to ‘combat systemic racism,’ pledging $250M over next decade

Update 3:12 a.m. EDT June 12: The National Football League committed $250 million on Thursday to address racial injustice over the next 10 years.

The pledge came six days after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted in a June 5 video that the league was wrong to ignore its players’ stances on the subject and will encourage their peaceful protests moving forward.

NJ mayor clarifies his ‘pro-black for all the good black people’ he knows comment after backlash

Update 2:21 a.m. EDT June 12: The mayor New Jersey’s Clark Township issued an apology Wednesday for comments he made during a recent anti-discrimination protest in a neighboring community.

Sal Bonaccorso was asked during a June 6 rally if he is "pro-black" and he responded by saying, "I am pro-black for all the good black people that I know in my life."

While trying to clarify in the moment, Bonaccorso told the crowd: “I can’t say I’m for anybody if I don’t know you. I’m for people. Good people, law-abiding, hard-working, good family, good friends, people with good intentions…If you’re black great, if you’re white, great. If you’re Hispanic, great…It doesn’t matter. I judge people on how you judge me. If you wanna be my friend and stick your hand out, I’ll shake your hand. I’ll look you in the eye."

On Wednesday Bonaccorso issued the following statement further clarifying his remarks: "My goal when I spoke was to reiterate and affirm that we want Clark Township to be a place where everyone feels welcome. Looking back on what I said and seeing some of the public reaction to it, I see that I may have fallen short of that goal, and I would like to clarify my answer to a question that was posed. An attendee asked me, ‘Are you pro black?’ The answer is of course, and unequivocally, yes. I also truly believe that Black Lives Matter.”

Police arrest woman accused of setting 5 patrol cars on fire during Seattle protest

Update 1:30 a.m. EDT June 12: A 25-year-old Tacoma, Washington, woman was arrested Thursday morning on five federal counts of arson after police say she set five Seattle police vehicles on fire as protests turned violent in downtown Seattle on May 30.

United States Attorney Brian T. Moran said in a news release that Margaret Aislinn Channon was taken into custody without incident at her home. Sheis expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Friday. Arson is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

“This defendant was captured by multiple cameras using an accelerant, lit like a blowtorch, to start fires in five vehicles -- putting the public at risk and creating the very real possibility of a structure fire amidst the throng of people protesting downtown,” Moran said in a news release. “I commend the painstaking work of law enforcement using a variety of images to identify the defendant and locate her so she can be held accountable.”

School board votes unanimously to remove Denver Police from schools

Update 1:12 a.m. EDT June 12: The school board in Denver, Colorado, voted unanimously Thursday night to remove the Denver Police Department from its schools.

Board member Tay Anderson told CNN four of the 17 officers currently in use will be phased out by the close of this year, with the remaining 13 cut by June 4, 2021.

“We already have your own safety and security department to patrol our schools,” Anderson told the network.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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