In the Star Tribune, Ryan Faircloth, Liz Navratil, Liz Sawyer and Matt McKinney write: “Anger over the death of George Floyd under a police officer’s knee spilled into the streets of Minneapolis for a second night Wednesday, intensifying well beyond Tuesday night’s unrest with a shooting death, widespread looting and a fire that shrouded the Lake Street neighborhood in smoke. One person was fatally shot in the area where the protest was taking place late Wednesday, possibly by a pawnshop owner who said the person was looting his business.”
KSTP-TV reports: “Wednesday, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called on Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to charge the police officer involved in the incident that led to the death of George Floyd. … ‘I’ve wrestled with, more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental question: Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail,’ Frey said. ‘If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now.’”
Also from KSTP: “Metro Transit announced on Thursday that Blue Line trains will be out of service until further notice. According to Metro Transit, the Blue Line trains will not run until further notice due to the protest and riots. … ‘Due to the riotous behavior and out of a precaution for riders and our employees, METRO Blue Line trains will not run until further notice. There also will not be replacement bus service for the METRO Blue Line.'”
The AP reports, “Hundreds of people protesting the death of a black man in Minneapolis police custody blocked a Los Angeles freeway and shattered windows of California Highway Patrol cruisers on Wednesday. … Demonstrators gathered in the late afternoon on downtown streets and eventually, dozens of people moved onto U.S. 101 despite police efforts to keep them from walking into the lanes.”
A trio at The Washington Post say, “The police response drew criticism from some who drew a contrast between the demonstrators in Minneapolis and the heavily armed protesters who gathered at state capitols in recent weeks to demonstrate against shutdown measures enacted amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.”
Says Erika Edwards at NBC News, “New estimates of the number of asymptomatic people with the coronavirus suggest that ‘silent’ COVID-19 is much more prevalent than once thought, according to two studies published Wednesday. The first study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that 42 percent of cases from a group of people in Wuhan, China, were asymptomatic. The second study, published in Thorax, found much higher rates of asymptomatic individuals: 81 percent of cases on a cruise to Antarctica. … That’s why the CDC encourages everyone to wear face coverings or masks in public to help prevent the spread of the virus.”
The Star Tribune’s Glenn Howatt writes, “A return to dining inside a restaurant could be the next step in lifting COVID-19 restrictions, but Gov. Tim Walz reiterated Wednesday that come Monday, only outdoor food service will be allowed. … Walz said he was in discussions with industry officials Wednesday morning, but for now the state is still trying to determine the impact that other recent decisions … ”
In the Pioneer Press, Dave Orrick reports: “Earlier this month, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health released projections from a revised coronavirus computer model that said deaths might double by Memorial Day. That didn’t happen. In fact, to a layman, it doesn’t even look close. … The U model’s projections are important because Walz has repeatedly said he uses them to inform his decisions on what freedoms to allow Minnesotans under his extraordinary peacetime emergency powers. … Confidence in computer models — or lack of it — has emerged as an important dynamic in the public and increasingly political debate over whether the state and nation are on the right course.”
I’m in agreement with the mayor. Why isn’t that murderer in jail? Why do we treat police criminals with with this kind of sickly deference? Why aren’t his criminal accomplices also in jail?
What a travesty of a justice system we have that they are not.
Mayor Frey is 100% correct. Why haven’t the suspects in the murder of George Floyd been arrested? I see this morning that MPD managed to arrest the shooter related to the alleged looting last night. We know they can move quickly if they want to. Apparently MPD and Mike Freeman would rather see their city burn than take action.
Burning and looting your own neighborhood is certainly the way to get your point across…especially damaging your friends and neighbors businesses…
I doubt that George Floyd would have wanted this type of a memorial.
“A riot is the language of the unheard.”
-MLK
Exactly. Mr. Price, think about the angriest moment in your life. Maybe you cursed, maybe you threw something against the wall, maybe you pounded your fist on the table. Now, multiply that anger by a community. There’s no telling what would happen.
of course…if you are angry…it is ok…
it is not OK that the neighborhood has been burned and looted …
anymore than it is that the Police officer involved is not sitting in jail as well…
I’ve read that most of the destructive demonstrators were not from the neighborhood.
THIS IS THE KEY CONCEPT WE MUST GET INTO PEOPLE”S HEADS:
” “New estimates of the number of asymptomatic people with the coronavirus suggest that ‘silent’ COVID-19 is much more prevalent than once thought, according to two studies published Wednesday. The first study, published in JAMA Network Open, found that 42 percent of cases from a group of people in Wuhan, China, were asymptomatic. The second study, published in Thorax, found much higher rates of asymptomatic individuals: 81 percent of cases on a cruise to Antarctica. … That’s why the CDC encourages everyone to wear face coverings or masks in public to help prevent the spread of the virus.”
You might be spreading it and feel just swell.
WEAR A MASK. BE CAREFUL. ASSUME YOU ARE POSITIVE.
I expect that Floyd’s murderer hasn’t been charged yet because it is very difficult to convict a cop. Philando Castile was murdered, and his killer walked. They have to get it exactly right. There may be federal civil rights charges, and that has to be coordinated with the local prosecution.
That being said, the longer it takes, the more unrest there is going to be.
The damage done to these businesses is going to be devastating to that neighborhood. Not just the small places, some of which were miniority-owned. But also the big box stores, which provide the groceries, clothes and other things for the nearby residents. An affordable housing development was destroyed.
Its all so bad.
I am extremely disappointed – perhaps even angry – that the Minneapolis Police Department has no officers with enough courage to step forward and condemn the actions of the officers who committed this atrocity. The silence from Minneapolis police officers suggests that either they supportive of the actions of the four who have been fired or, are too intimidated by the real boss of the police force, Bob Kroll.