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Dear Neighbor,
Earlier today Attorney General Keith Ellison, in collaboration with Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, announced that former officer Derek Chauvin would now be charged with second degree murder and manslaughter for the killing of George Floyd. The other three officers involved have been charged with aiding and abetting murder in the second degree and booked. A felony offense. I am thankful for the work of Attorneys Ellison and Freeman as we move one step closer to justice. Being complicit is a crime and all four should be held accountable as we grieve the precious and irreplaceable life of George Floyd.
I want to provide an update regarding last night and what folks can expect to see tonight and tomorrow night as well. Please note some of the routing of suspicious activity has changed.
Review of Last Night and Today:
- Law enforcement has informed me that there were no serious incidents yesterday in our ward related to the ongoing state of emergency. This marks several days in a row of situational improvement. Curfew appears to be an effective tool.
- The Unified Command of State and City have been working for a MORE rapid response for our 911 system, such that you experience less downtime and wait times.
- Damage across our city is being rapidly surveyed. While we are not yet ready to provide a credible estimate of the damages and losses our city has sustained in damage this past week, we are working hard to understand the number of people impacted directly. This process will be complex and take some time, but as of yesterday we knew over 220 buildings and over $55M in losses. This number is very incomplete.
- Further arrests from last night:
- Minneapolis Police Department made 30 arrests, State Patrol made 7 arrests, and St. Paul Police Department didn't make any arrests.
Fire Updates:
- Yesterday the Mpls Fire Department responded to 148 calls for service, but had only 2 responses for structure fires across the city.
- Please know I’m getting asked for a lot of follow-up information that I don’t yet have, but arson investigators are working as quickly as possible.
- Fire activity and responses to structure fires have shown a sharp decrease since the weekend. The MFD has responded to over 900 calls for service and 79 structure fires since Wednesday May 27th.
What to Expect the next few days:
- Approximately 5,000 MN National Guard remain at this time, with 2,000 in transition back into off-duty and their civilian lives.
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CURFEW has been extended and is in effect TONIGHT and TOMORROW from 10pm to 4am. Here is an FAQ page with more details.
- Law enforcement assures us that they’re goal is to follow up on:
- Report vehicles without license plates to: MPD Tip Line 612-348-2345. This is a new line that is working 24 hours/day.
- We want to ensure the removal of all the flammable objects and other incendiary devices. If you see or suspect one, this is a 911 call.
- The Governor’s office spoke more forward-looking about COVID-19 pandemic at their 5pm press conference. With 90+ days of experience now with COVID they are getting more confident that there will soon be more ability to have things open up a bit more. This is my own impression in listening to Governor Walz, not his exact words.
- Bus service has resumed normal (COVID schedule) service.
- Metro Transit to begin LRT service (COVID schedule) tomorrow morning, contingent on completing inspection.
Memorial details for George Floyd
The family at George Floyd is having a memorial at 1pm at the North Central University Sanctuary.
I was told the service is private, and socially distanced. I am not sure if it will be televised, and there will be heavy security at these services. Out of respect to the family, Thursday's Policy Oversight and Government Operations (POGO) Committee has been moved to 10am on Friday, June 5th.
At 1pm, I ask you to join me, wherever you are in 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence and reflection.
Be well everyone,
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