Police on Trial

>> No justice, no peace!

>> NARRATOR: A special two-year collaboration... >> Mr. Kueng, is there anything you’d like to say?

>> NARRATOR: With reporters from the Minneapolis Star Tribune and FRONTLINE... >> ...his supervisors... >> NARRATOR: Investigating the city’s police... >> There'd been a long history of heavy-handed policing and police violence.

>> If Mr. Chauvin saw my nephew as a human being, he wouldn’t have treated him that way.

>> It is not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values.

>> NARRATOR: The department's culture... >> What did the administration do to keep this from happening before it even got to this point?

>> NARRATOR: The impact on the community... >> It’s just a combustible situation.

NARRATOR: And the struggle for reform... >> We should and can abolish our current Minneapolis police system.

>> There was no explanation on what the plan was going to be after abolishing the police.

>> It’s not like you can just reform or dismantle MPD and it’s a job well done and you’re gonna wake up in this utopia.

There’s plenty more work to be done.

NARRATOR: Now on FRONTLINE - "Police on Trial."

>> JANY: I was working a holiday shift.

And I got this cryptic text from the police spokesperson telling me about a news conference outside of city hall.

So I went down there.

>> Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and realized that the suspect was suffering in medical distress.

Officers called for an ambulance.

He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died a short time later.

(sirens blaring) >> JANY: I was posting regular updates on Twitter saying that there were all sorts of unanswered questions about this incident.

And it was around that time that someone on Twitter, a follower of mine, said, "Hey, there's a video that's floating around out there, you may want to check it out."

(George Floyd crying on video) >> Relax!

>> I can't breathe!

>> JANY: It was pretty surreal, because it seemed to directly contradict what the initial police account said.

There was no mention of being pinned under an officer's knee.

>> He's not (bleep) moving!

>> I see that!

I see that!

>> JANY: It took me a second to sort of process what I was watching.

♪ ♪ (keys clacking) You realize that there's far more to this case than they initially let on.

It raised a lot of doubts or questions in a lot of people's minds of how many other incidents in the past had been shaped or sanitized by the cops.

♪ ♪ (printer whirring) We didn't have any inkling at the time about the magnitude of George Floyd's murder, and the impact that it would have not only on law enforcement, but on society in general.

It was a pivotal event in the story of policing in this country-- one that my colleagues at the "Star Tribune" and I would be reporting on for the next two years.

>> This morning a man is dead after being arrested by Minneapolis police and video has emerged online.

>> This is the latest in a series of controversial deaths involving Minneapolis police.

(indistinct chatter) >> Outside this grocery store is now home for a memorial.

>> The Tuesday morning after George Floyd was killed, I got there pretty early, and the protesters and demonstrators and mourners were just starting to gather at the scene.

>> I watched the whole thing from start to finish.

>> Were you standing out here on the sidewalk?

>> Yes!

>> Okay, can you tell me where you were standing when you saw this?

>> Let me tell you where he died at too.

This is where he died at right here.

>> And where were you, sir, when you saw this?

You were right there?

>> Yeah.

He died right there.

>> This is ridiculous!

How long y'all think this is going, y'all going to keep on killing our kids in the street and we're going to sit on here and put up with this (bleep)?

>> Murder!

>> It was kind of chaotic too, a lot of people in the street, and the crowds just kept growing.

>> We want this police officer arrested with his partner!

Not suspended!

(cheers and applause) >> Murderer!

(shouting fading) ♪ ♪ >> Roughly 48 hours after Floyd was killed, people were protesting en masse.

(shouting) We've seen mass demonstrations but never destruction of property on this level.

(alarm blaring) It escalated really quickly.

♪ ♪ >> We started to hear a lot of different versions of who was behind the violence.

(fireworks crackling) We had the governor, and you know, public safety officials coming out and holding press conferences saying, "Out of town agitators, white supremacists."

>> You are in violation of lawful assembly.

>> And because I think our world had sort of been turned upside down, anything seemed possible.

(shouting, sirens blaring) >> JANY: The visceral images of him taking his last breath on that video, that's certainly what brought people out to the streets in the first place.

But what sustained or fueled some of these subsequent protests is that there'd been a long history of heavy-handed policing and police violence.

We'd been chronicling that violence in a database of every person killed by law enforcement in Minnesota since the year 2000.

>> Police shot and wounded Jamar Clark early Sunday.

>> Community members asking for answers after a man was shot and by police.

>> 24-year-old Edmond Fair was shot and killed by the officer during a traffic stop.

>> We started working on this database back in 2015.

And late 2015 is when Jamar Clark was killed by Minneapolis police.

It was just the next year after that, that Philando Castille was shot, Justine Damond shot after that.

We knew that we had to provide a deeper context for people of how often this happens.

By the time that George Floyd came around, there was just this certain numbness that this just keeps happening.

It keeps happening.

The point of the database is to show that these aren't just numbers, this was someone's brother, sister, mother, father.

>> You guys know him as George Floyd, but I know him as Perry.

And Perry is my nephew.

I'm his aunt.

His mother is my sister.

Trying to find family ones.

Here's a family photo in here.

There's Perry right there.

That's his mama Cissy, and that's his two sisters, that's Zsa-Zsa and Tonya, and that's his father.

He was a mother's boy.

And my sister, I wouldn't say she nurtured him a lot, but that was her eldest son.

You know, when she looked at Perry, you know, he just melted her heart.

Before he came to Minneapolis, I remember telling him, "You know, Perry, you know, you gotta be careful of the police.

Because you're about 6'8".

So if they ever stop you, just do what they tell you to do."

Because I was afraid they'd be intimidated by his height.

Because he's Black.

It's a talk that I think all Black mothers and aunts and grandparents have with their loved ones out of fear.

And he said, "I'm gonna be okay, Auntie, I got this."

I said, "I'm just letting you know, because the police, you know, they're afraid of us."

>> What's his name?

George Floyd.

>> What's his name?

George Floyd.

>> What's his name?

>> That man still had respect, he said, "I can't breathe, officer!"

>> And then he called for his mother!

>> JANY: We were in the midst of these, like, historic protests.

And it just felt like we'd reached a certain tipping point and that something was going to change, fundamentally change.

>> We finna take a walk, or get in y'all cars, whatever y'all gotta do but we're going to the precinct right away.

We're not walking around.

We're going right there.

>> George Floyd.

>> JANY: Three days after George Floyd's murder, protestors descended on the Third Precinct, where Derek Chauvin and the other three officers had been stationed.

♪ ♪ (shouting) >> The night the Third Precinct was set on fire, and I was right outside that gate, that initial small flame in the entryway that really grew over time.

It was just a scene out of a movie.

>> What's his name?

>> George Floyd!

>> What's his name?

>> George Floyd!

>> Essentially, MPD was nowhere to be found.

Fires are raging everywhere.

Any perception of law and order had crumbled.

(shouting) >> The commissioner of the Department of Public Safety is making us evacuate this building.

We are going to go in one huge team.

>> JANY: Everyone had been ordered to pull out of the Third Precinct, essentially handing the building over to protestors.

>> I didn't know that that would be possible in an American city, for a police station to fall.

(protestors shouting) I did talk to an officer who was there that night who was forced to abandon his post.

And the officers felt the same.

I mean, to them it was a huge betrayal.

This was their home, that's how they viewed it.

And to be forced to evacuate and essentially give it to protesters was a slap in the face.

(shouting, fireworks crackling) It felt like the city had been taken.

(cheers and applause) >> JANY: Someone inside the department said that this particular precinct had long had a bad reputation as sort of a haven for cowboy officers who kind of play by their own rules.

We started doing some reporting and even when officers were credibly accused of using excessive force, they were rarely, if ever held accountable, showing our readers why it was that this particular precinct would go up in flames.

It wasn't simply about George Floyd's killing, it was years and years of tension that had been simmering.

So there was a sense that Derek Chauvin was sort of the poster child for the culture in the Third Precinct, as opposed to being an outlier.

♪ ♪ The MPD didn't exactly push back on some of the allegations contained in the story.

Instead, they issued a brief statement saying that no officer, shift, or precinct were exempt from the chief's expectations of all of his officers.

>> I know that there is currently a deficit of hope in our city.

And as I wear this uniform before you, I know that this department has contributed to that deficit of hope, but I will not allow to increase that deficit by retraumatizing those folks in our community.

So I am committed to making sure that we restore peace and security in our community.

>> JANY: Medaria Arradondo was carrying the burden of being the city's first Black police chief while trying to steer the department through arguably the worst crisis of its 150-plus- year history.

Arradondo himself was no stranger to the at-times discriminatory culture within the MPD, having sued the department early on in his career after he and some of his colleagues were passed over for promotions.

It wasn't lost on him that the world was really looking at what was going on here in terms of race and policing, and him being a Black man and a cop.

>> I came to pay my respects to Mr. Floyd and I came to just offer prayer for his loved ones, his family and our community that's hurting.

I grew up about a block from here.

>> JANY: He moved quickly to fire the four officers involved in George Floyd's killing.

>> I did not need days, or weeks, or months, or processes or bureaucracies, to tell me that what occurred out here last Monday, it was wrong.

>> JANY: But after years of complaints about police harassment and brutality, people were demanding radical change.

♪ ♪ >> Black lives, they matter here!

Black lives, they matter here!

Black lives, they matter here!

>> About two weeks out from George Floyd's death, Mayor Jacob Frey was confronted by protesters and they asked him if he would abolish the police department.

>> Jacob Frey, we have a yes or no question for you.

Yes or no: will you commit to defunding the Minneapolis Police Department?

It's important that we hear this because if y'all don't know, he's up for re-election next year.

And if he says no, guess what the (bleep) we gonna do next year?

(cheers and applause) >> All right!

Get the (bleep) outta here!

(crowd shouting) >> Go home, Jacob, go home!

Go home, Jacob, go home!

>> And he got booed by the crowd.

And they started screaming "shame" and it was like something out of a scene from "Game of Thrones."

>> Shame!

>> Get outta here!

♪ ♪ >> Next what I'm going to do is call up our council members.

>> And then the next afternoon we saw nine council members walk on the stage and they delivered a pledge that made a couple of key promises to begin the process of ending the Minneapolis Police Department and building a new community safety system that really set the tone for all of the debates we would hear in the next two years.

>> This is what leadership looks like!

(cheers and applause) >> It is clear that our system of policing is not keeping our community safe.

(cheers and applause) >> My name is Alondra Cano, I'm the 9th ward council member, and I am no longer a reformist.

(cheers and applause) The killing of Mr. Floyd happened in my ward.

The burning down of the Third Precinct happened in my ward.

I knew that the type of response that I needed to have was going to have to be the magnitude of a spiritual response.

We should and can abolish our current Minneapolis police system.

(cheers and applause) >> People had really strong reactions to the Powderhorn Park Pledge.

We heard from some folks who were incredibly excited about this and saw it as a crucial step forward.

We heard from others who feared that the council members were acting too swiftly and didn't have a concrete plan for going forward.

>> And we stand with the people of Minneapolis in fighting for a safer community.

>> But it was clear this was going to be a moment that we were going to revisit and it was going to have really significant impact.

(shouting) >> George Floyd!

>> Justice for... >> George Floyd!

>> Justice for... >> George Floyd!

>> Four former police officers charged in George Floyd's death will appear in Hennepin County Court this morning.

Will the former officers charged with killing George Floyd be tried separately or all together in one trial?

>> Okay, we're going to go live on Twitter here from the scene.

Earl, have you heard whether the judge will issue any decisions today on...

Normally these are very procedural hearings, not a lot of interest or activity... Mr. Kueng, is there anything you'd like to say?

But there was a lot of protesters outside the courthouse.

>> They have to reap what they have sown!

>> Not sure what was gonna happen in court, but also not sure what was gonna happen outside of court.

>> We need community control of the police right now.

The people right here could have prevented the murder of George Floyd.

>> This was the first time Chauvin had appeared in person in court with the other three officers who were charged.

The other three officers' attorneys asked the judge to separate their trials from Chauvin's trial, which the judge later agreed to do.

They felt that trying them all together would prejudice the jury because they might blame one for the other's actions.

(crowd shouting) You know, we're used to seeing cops sort of stand up for each other, at least publicly be more discreet about their strategy, but right out of the gate they were willing to say, "It was him and not us."

(crowd shouting) I think the fact that Kueng and Lane were so quick to blame Chauvin really showed us that this was gonna be an unusual case.

(crowd shouting) ♪ ♪ >> JANY: Right at the end of 2020, there was another police killing.

>> The shooting happened just a mile from where George Floyd was killed after being restrained by officers... >> Dolal Idd 23-year-old Somali man shot out of the driver side window and three officers returned fire.

>> JANY: Dolal Idd's death was the first police killing after George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis.

People were still very much on edge.

There were already a number of protesters or demonstrators that had gathered around the gas station where it happened.

>> Get your (bleep) hands off of me!

>> Then back up!

>> Don't (bleep) touch her!

>> ...have a rational conversation, by all means.

>> No, I don't want to.

>> But if you're going to be irrational, then, okay.

♪ ♪ >> So we're going to try going inside the Holiday Station.

And see if any of the managers are around who were here last night.

I'm sorry to bother you I'm just trying to talk to managers who were here at the time.

>> The manager is not here.

>> Okay, all right, you weren't working last night?

>> No.

>> Okay, thank you.

♪ ♪ (car horn honking) >> No justice, no peace!

No justice, no peace!

>> JANY: We still don't know much, but police maintain that this guy shot at them first.

You know, a lot of folks still hadn't recovered mentally or emotionally from the sight of watching George Floyd's killing.

And then also watching the city kind of go up in flames like that was still this sort of lingering feeling or sentiment.

Do you remember how many shots you heard?

>> What I recall was three, but the third shot I was in the building.

>> JANY: What goes through your mind?

>> Our community is beyond the state of emergency.

And... we have to figure out a solution for moving forward holistically for the sake of everyone.

Because if we don't, we could continue this cycle of trauma and hurt on one another.

>> JANY: Very well said.

This continuum of police violence against Black people, even if you don't know the person who's been killed, you still have this sort of visceral response or reaction to images of Black pain, and trauma, and grief.

Mike Brown, Tamir Rice, George Floyd, you know, Alton Sterling.

Each time something like that happens, it takes an emotional toll on Black people everywhere.

>> Prosecutors say the officers involved will not face criminal charges.

Body camera footage shows Idd open fire on officers first before they returned fire.

>> Here are some of the names of the people who have been killed by police in the state of Minnesota.

Roderick Harvey, Romell Hill, Philando Castile, George Floyd.

>> Welcome everyone.

I think we're all a little anxious.

Logistically Chao, and Rochelle, and Libor are pretty much ready to go.

I mean we don't know how eventful this first week will be, of course, it's pretty fluid.

>> I just don't know how we're going to get through the next two months here.

Like I just was sorta like, I don't know if I'm ready for it.

>> Downtown Minneapolis here is frankly starting to look like a war zone.

>> Also see National Guard soldiers out in the community doing security checks before the trial.

>> Right is right and wrong is wrong!

We paid the ultimate sacrifice!

♪ ♪ >> Now Derek Chauvin will face the judgment of a jury.

And it begins this morning with opening statements by the prosecution... >> Everyone in the world has been waiting for this day to begin.

And now it's happening.

And it's sort of hard to believe.

I didn't really get a lot of sleep last night, I don't know why; I wasn't really worried or nervous, but I probably slept... (inhales, sighs) three hours last night.

Just running through all the different scenarios and arguments in your brain about what might happen today.

>> You will never be able to bring this family's brother back.

You have the opportunity to make it right this time.

>> So much rests on the outcome of this case, and it has caused this reckoning across the world about race and equity in general that you can't help but feel the weight of that today.

>> What do we want?

>> Justice!

>> And when do we want it?

>> Now!

>> Shut it down!

Shut it down!

>> Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, good morning.

You're going to learn in this case a lot about what it means to be a public servant, and to have the honor of wearing this badge.

On May 25th of 2020, Mr. Derek Chauvin betrayed this badge.

>> Minnesota has pretty strict rules about when cameras are allowed in courtrooms.

Generally and broadly, they're not allowed in courtrooms.

>> That he put his knees upon his neck... >> Eventually, the judge ruled that it would be live-streamed because the COVID pandemic was going to limit access to the trial so severely that it wouldn't be a public trial without a public live stream.

>> A reasonable doubt is a doubt that is based upon reason and common sense.

What would a reasonable police officer do?

What is a reasonable use of force?

What would a reasonable person do in his or her most important affairs?

What is a reasonable doubt?

Common sense tells you that there are always two sides to a story.

>> JANY: For a lot of people, this trial came to symbolize more than just the actions of one officer.

It was a moment for policing itself to be on trial.

But from the start, the focus was almost entirely on Derek Chauvin-- the evidence of what he did was overwhelming, mostly because it was caught on camera.

But it wasn't just the video that everyone had seen, there were multiple other videos, some of which were released for the first time, including from passersby, various surveillance cameras in the area, and other sources.

They also introduced body camera footage from some of the main officers who responded to the scene.

(indistinct chatter) This other footage that was introduced gave us some insight into how the first few minutes of the police encounter, how that unfolded.

How officers initially approached Floyd as he was sitting in an S.U.V.

and he was parked and ordered him out.

>> Stay in the car.

Let me see your other hand.

>> JANY: How the encounter sort of escalated from that moment.

>> Put your (bleep) hands up right now!

Let me see your other hand!

>> I didn't know, man!

>> Get out of the car!

>> I didn't know, officer!

>> Put your (bleep) hands behind your back.

>> Stop moving!

>> Stop resisting, man!

>> I'm not!

>> Yes, you are!

>> It raised a question in some people's minds about whether the officers unnecessarily escalated this incident, which ostensibly, you know, started over a fake $20 bill.

>> You got an I.D.

on you?

>> I got one at home.

>> All right, what's your name?

>> George.

George Perry Floyd.

I don't know what's going on.

>> JANY: It was Lane and Kueng that initially encountered George Floyd and they tried to force him into a back of a squad car.

>> I'll roll the windows down, okay?

(beeping) >> JANY: And yet, as soon as Chauvin arrived, you know, as the most kind of senior officer on the scene, he immediately, like, took control of the situation.

>> I'm not going to run, man!

Right, right, right, right...

I can't breathe!

I can't breathe!

>> What's going on?

>> Just take him out.

Just take him out.

>> For what?

Please, man!

>> JANY: Just on a human level, it's, it's difficult to watch.

>> ...in forming your opinions, right?

>> Yes, based on the what was current at the time of the incident.

>> Perry fought for nine minutes and 29 seconds.

But if you look careful at that video, you saw somebody that's very humble.

>> Put that foot back in.

>> I'm sorry, Mr.

Officer, I'm so sorry.

>> "Yes, Mr.

Officer."

>> Thank you, Mr.

Officer.

>> Sit down!

>> Thank you, man.

>> "Please, Mr.

Officer."

>> I'm claustrophobic, Mr.

Officer-- please, man!

>> There have been many people that would've cussed that officer out when they were in pain or dying or whatever.

Through all of that... he still gave respect to that officer.

>> I can't breathe, Mr.

Officer, please!

>> And he treated that officer as a human being.

>> I can't breathe, officer!

Agh!

>> See, here's the thing.

Through all this terrible thing, I still see Mr. Derek Chauvin as a human being.

If Mr. Chauvin saw my nephew as a human being, he wouldn't have treated him that way.

♪ ♪ (Floyd crying out) (indistinct chatter) (indistinct chatter) >> JANY: There were a number of things in the video that pointed to bigger issues with Minneapolis Police Department's culture and training practices.

One that immediately sort of jumps out is the failure by the other officers to forcefully intervene.

>> I can't breathe!

>> JANY: It's the underlying culture that exists in certain police departments where they're paramilitary organizations and ones that are rooted in hierarchy and a clear command structure.

>> Mama!

Mama!

>> JANY: Younger officers, more junior officers, might see something that a senior officer is doing that is sort of very clearly wrong... and yet they wouldn't intervene because of this clear hierarchy, which frowns on a younger officer questioning or second guessing an older cop.

>> Look at my face, man.

>> All these bystanders immediately knew how serious this was, and really felt that it was important to capture that for posterity and for accountability.

>> Well you've got him down, let him breathe at least, man.

>> I can't breathe.

>> They capture people yelling for the cops to show some mercy.

>> His nose is bleeding, like come on now!

>> That's wrong right there put his feet on his neck.

>> Look at his nose.

>> You had children who were telling the cops what was going on, but yet he was ignoring them and resisting their pleas for help.

(people shouting) >> I'm a firefighter from Minneapolis.

>> Bro, look, you should check on him, he's not... >> He was ignoring a Minneapolis firefighter's pleas for help, who had wandered on the scene, off-duty.

>> Get off the street.

>> I'm a firefighter from Minneapolis.

>> Then you would know to get off the street.

>> No, I do know.

>> He's not responsive right now, bro.

>> Does he have a pulse?

>> No, bro, look at him he's not responding... >> Yelling for the cops to check his pulse, captured George Floyd, you know, screaming for his life and really begging for some breath.

>> You call what he's doing okay?

>> Get back off the street.

>> You call what he's doing okay?

>> You're really a firefighter?

>> Yes, I am, from Minneapolis.

>> Get back on the sidewalk.

>> Show me his pulse!

>> Check his pulse!

>> Check his pulse!

>> Check the pulse!

>> I'm telling you right now check his pulse.

>> Tao, check his pulse, bro.

>> As you were standing there, seeing all this, how were you feeling?

>> (exhales) >> They built the case around those elements, showing that if all these people knew better, a veteran police officer with Derek Chauvin's experience, who trained new recruits, should have known just as much, if not more, than those bystanders.

>> Were you frustrated?

>> Yes.

>> JANY: Almost as soon as we learned Derek Chauvin's name, we started looking into his record at the MPD.

We found at least two dozen complaints in over 18 years.

All but two of those were dismissed without any discipline.

>> Figure out how Derek Chauvin like fell through the cracks.

>> JANY: Prosecutors also ended up finding cases of people who had never filed complaints.

We worked with our colleagues over at "Frontline" to track down and speak with some of them, and we found video of the incidents that had never been seen before.

>> They all involved Derek Chauvin encountering a suspect or responding to a 911 call, and as soon as the person wasn't compliant, him becoming really aggressive and kind of ramping up that encounter to assert his physical dominance over, over these people and make them comply with him by force.

>> JANY: One of the people we found was Jimmy Bostic.

Back in 2016, he had been thrown out of one of the city's indoor markets and the police had been called to deal with him.

>> I remember an officer coming up to me very calmly.

And he asked me what's going on.

And I told him they're trying to make me leave.

I'm waiting for my ride.

When my ride gets here I will leave.

The officer at the time that I found out was Chauvin, I started to tell him what was happening.

Derek Chauvin asked me, "What's your name?"

"Am I under arrest?

If I'm not under arrest, you have no reason to know my name."

I know being young, I say a lot of (bleep) to provoke officers.

>> JANY: The footage shows Chauvin grabbing Bostic by the head and neck and forcing him down to the sidewalk.

>> He went to grab my arm and I snatched my arm away.

I said, "What the (bleep) are you doing?

Don't touch me."

And I yelled it at the top of my lungs.

They all jumped on me.

And I feel an arm wrap around my head.

I just panicked.

"I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe."

And when I started saying that I started to really couldn't breathe.

There's no reason for five grown men to jump on me.

Even if I am hostile.

To be 18 years old... My life is in Derek Chauvin's hands.

That's scary.

>> JANY: Bostic was cited for disorderly conduct and released.

There was another case we found where Chauvin was arresting a woman named Zoya Code, who had been accused of assaulting her mother.

It takes a little while for the body camera sound to click on, but you can see Code resisting, and Chauvin cuffing her, and taking her to the ground.

(beeping) >> Hey, guess what?

I didn't even move since he said stop fighting.

Guess what?

>> No, you did fight.

>> Guess what?

That's why people dead now.

>> It's okay.

>> That's why people dead now.

Watch this.

>> Stand up.

>> You wanna see me murdered?

You wanna see me murdered?

>> Zoya, your children are here.

Please think of them.

Stand up.

>> No.

>> Please think of them.

>> I'm resisting, I'm not gonna stand up.

>> No, you're not.

>> Look!

Look, he just slamming my face around and stuff.

Take my glasses off.

>> Zoya!

>> Take my glasses off.

Ow!

They took me outside.

They pushed me forcefully to the ground by the grass, not in the grass, it just looked like that.

You weak?

You strong enough?

Ow!

That's how you gonna slam me on the ground?

That's how you gonna do me?

And he jumped on my neck and stayed there.

>> JANY: Chauvin pinned Code down with his knee for more than four and a half minutes.

>> Can you get off my neck?

>> Here put this one back around her waist area there.

>> My legs were pumping.

I was hand-tied with a man on my neck and my legs were folded.

>> Perfect.

>> Take my glasses off.

I didn't know his name.

All I knew was he was a police officer with Minneapolis Police Department.

I didn't know what precinct he was at.

All I knew was his face.

He haunted me until I seen him on top of George.

>> JANY: The charges against Code were eventually dropped.

The case was close enough to the way Chauvin handled George Floyd three years later, that the judge said it could be introduced at trial.

>> Just pull me by my ponytail.

Don't nobody else give a (bleep).

All on my damn neck.

Take my glasses off.

>> JANY: A casual observer might wonder, you know, if there were other instances that were similar to George Floyd's killing, why wasn't this officer flagged earlier?

Why was he allowed to continue as a field training officer?

It raised a host of questions, both about Derek Chauvin as an individual officer, and MPD as an institution or police department.

Chauvin's lawyer argued that he had acted reasonably and that his supervisors approved how he responded.

During the trial, prosecutors never called Zoya Code.

>> Do you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you're about to... >> JANY: They relied on the testimony of MPD officers about Chauvin's actions.

>> Sir, is this an MPD-trained neck restraint?

>> No, sir.

>> What we train is using one arm or two arm to do a neck restraint.

>> And how does this differ?

>> I don't know what kind of improvised position that is.

>> If your knee is on a person's neck, that can kill him.

>> What is your view of that use of force during that time period?

>> Totally unnecessary.

I saw no reason why the officers felt they were in danger.

>> JANY: The message that the MPD was projecting from the witness stand to the world was that Chauvin was a rogue cop.

>> Would you please point to him?

>> Right there.

>> May the record reflect that the witness has identified the defendant.

>> JANY: But that didn't exactly square with a lot of the reporting on the department that my colleagues and I had been doing over the years.

Or with conversations "Frontline's" reporter Marcia Robiou was having with some former MPD officers.

>> I pulled it out, it's the 150th anniversary of the Minneapolis Police Dept.

There I am-- in my inspector's attire no less.

>> Catherine Johnson, who has since left the department, was an inspector at the Third Precinct, which is the same precinct that Derek Chauvin had spent much of his career.

>> I'll tell you a story about the internal culture of the Third Precinct.

When I was a lieutenant at the Third Precinct, I submitted a report on the use of force to the internal affairs unit for an officer by the name of Blayne Lehner.

He kicked a guy in the face during the course of an arrest following a pursuit.

And, you know, my training was that kicking somebody in the head was deadly force.

And so I sent the case to internal affairs.

The entire precinct stopped talking to me as a lieutenant because I had had the audacity to send a case to the internal affairs unit.

>> Lehner ended up getting suspended for 15 hours and was eventually fired years later, but there was all this video of incidents he was involved in.

Before his suspension, he was seen grabbing a protester by the throat.

>> Take your backpack off.

>> I'm with the press.

What do you want?

>> And shoving a reporter.

>> What am I being arrested for?

>> After his suspension, there was a video of him throwing a woman to the ground.

>> Later, when I came back as the inspector, there were still some in the precinct who refused to even look at me when I walked in the building.

Because of their belief that I had done something that wasn't appropriate.

>> She said she knew very little about Chauvin-- she hadn't been aware of any of the warning signs, or any of the prior incidents like Zoya Code's, and she pretty much just pointed the finger at the officers below her.

>> The struggle is, as the inspector, I don't know all of the 911 responses, right?

So you have inspector, lieutenant, sergeant.

Part of it as an inspector, and as a person who did those force reviews, I'm relying on them to tell me if there's a problem.

Which means if someone is mistreated, I'm relying on them to complain.

Is that the best way to go about it?

No, probably not.

>> Are they the ones who are responsible for a misbehaving cop?

And if not, who is?

>> Ultimately, the entire department is responsible for it, frankly.

But in the immediacy, it is the sergeants' responsibility to make sure that their cops are following the rules.

If the sergeant doesn't do that, then those cops believe they are following the rules, because they're following the rules as that sergeant has enforced them.

It's part of the reason why the Third Precinct stopped talking to me when I was a lieutenant.

I'm the one who broke the rules.

>> She put a lot of the blame on what she sort of saw as these ingrained cultural problems throughout the ranks of the MPD, which is something I'd heard in other conversations with former officers.

>> So this is kinda my life.

>> There's this other lieutenant who had a pretty similar story.

>> First Precinct Officer of the Month, 2011.

>> A guy named Rich Jackson.

And he'd never spoken publicly before about his issues or concerns with the Minneapolis Police Department.

>> What happened with George Floyd and with other cases, those officers are responsible.

Yes, absolutely, and they have some weight in that.

But what did the administration do to curtail this, or to divert this or keep this from happening before it even got to this point?

And when you look at it from my perspective, they had four or five different opportunities to take care of this before it even got to George Floyd.

You would make a recommendation for discipline.

>> We talked a lot about how cops with a pattern of behavior like Chauvin's were not stopped sooner, and a process called "coaching."

Coaching is supposed to be a form of corrective action reserved for minor policy violations.

Essentially, there's discipline, which is public and sort of remains within a police officer's personnel file, and could have consequences for a police officer's career.

And then there's coaching, which does not remain in an officer's file and is not public.

>> So if you have an officer who is quote-unquote a "problem officer," a coaching document can be used to shield an officer who has a proven record of policy violations.

But in that same respect, there's only so much that you can protect before it comes to light.

And then when it does come to light, then it becomes very obvious.

>> When we sat down to interview him, Jackson had recently left the department over holding an officer accountable-- a cop named Ty Jindra, who was ultimately convicted of multiple federal charges.

Jackson gave me a hard drive filled with internal documents and police videos.

>> The guy is on the hood.

His hands are behind his back, he's not fighting, he's not being uncooperative.

Jindra takes his gun and jams it into his temple.

And I was, like, "What the hell?"

Then he grabs his head, repositions it, slams it back down on the car.

What is he doing?

And then I look at all the other officers, everybody's just handcuffing.

If that gun had gone off when he went like this, it would've blew the kid's head off.

>> So this is the next day, you find out about his, another complaint.

>> Another complaint.

He pulls the kid out of the car, doesn't even ask for a driver's license, proof for insurance, or nothing, just snatches him out the car, puts a gun to his head.

I was starting to see a pattern.

And then I came forward and did something about it.

I sent it to Internal Affairs that night.

After Jindra got relieved of duty, it happened about two days later, it came out.

"Oh, Rich is a snitch, Rich is going after cops."

It was horrible.

And it was very, um, demoralizing being a lieutenant.

And I can just imagine how my sergeants felt.

It angered me a lot.

Because I became a police officer to do the right thing, not to hide stuff.

I became a police officer to protect our communities and keep them safe.

Not to enable bad behavior by officers.

>> In a rare move, Chief Medaria Arradondo prepares to take the witness stand for the prosecution.

>> Your honor, the state calls Chief Medaria Arradondo.

>> We learned early on that Chief Arradondo was going to testify.

>> Do you swear or affirm under penalty of perjury... >> And more than likely he was going to testify against Chauvin's actions and in favor of the prosecution's case.

>> Do you believe that the defendant followed departmental policy regarding de-escalation?

>> I absolutely do not agree with that.

>> And how so?

>> That action is not de-escalation.

That action goes contrary to what we're taught.

>> Do you have a belief as to when this restraint, the restraint on the ground that you viewed, should have stopped?

>> Once Mr. Floyd had stopped resisting, and certainly once he was, um, uh, in distress and trying to verbalize that, that should have stopped.

Clearly, when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless, that in no way, shape, or form is anything that is by policy, it is not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values.

>> The chief's testimony was important because I think we expected other officers and the defense's expert witness to say, "Of course, this is acceptable behavior.

They're trained to do this," and there's no better counterpoint than the chief's counterpoint.

You know, he's the one who sort of settled it once and for all for the jurors and for the public.

>> All right, thank you, Chief.

>> JANY: Some people saw the testimony of the chief and some of these officers, the images of them getting on the stand and condemning the actions of one of their own, they saw that as sort of a significant step towards better policing, a crack in the blue wall of silence, and yet, a matter of days later, you had another police killing.

(people talking indistinctly) >> Taser, taser, taser!

>> Oh, man!

>> Holy (bleep).

I just shot him.

>> We started seeing some chatter on Twitter that a suburban police department, Brooklyn Center, had been involved in a shooting.

>> Say his name!

>> Daunte Wright!

>> Say his name!

>> Daunte Wright!

>> To find out that it was an unarmed Black man again was hard for people to take.

>> Just like George Floyd, it doesn't matter what you do, you don't deserve to be murdered.

>> We must love and support one another!

>> We must love and support one another!

>> Because we have nothing to lose but our chains!

>> We have nothing to lose but our chains!

>> The city had already been through so much, even just in the past year, that we knew things could escalate quickly.

>> All right, so if this (bleep) don't go right with George Floyd, I'm burning this city up myself.

I'm tearing this bitch up.

>> Burn it down!

(protesters chanting) >> Burn it down!

>> Andy?

>> Hey.

>> Hey.

So we're gonna go to the police station.

Because apparently there's 200 people outside the police station.

>> I'm just gonna hang out here.

>> It's really terrible, in the middle of the trial.

>> I know.

>> Honestly, like, we can't even go a week?

(helicopter hovering) In a climate like this, in the midst of the Derek Chauvin trial, you have potentially an unarmed Black man, another one, be killed by a local police department.

It's just a combustible situation right now.

(sirens blaring) A group of several hundred people apparently is outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department demanding answers.

This is not good.

>> Brooklyn Center, (inaudible)!

We do this every night!

Together and fight!

We do this every night!

>> There was so much anger, and the interaction with police had escalated so quickly, that officers were firing tear gas into the crowd.

Oh, no.

(tear gas canisters firing) (coughing) So it was, it felt very familiar.

And I got out my gas mask that night, as the tear gas was wafting in our direction.

And all I could think about was that it was happening again.

So soon after George Floyd, after Dolal Idd, that the community was going through it again.

(car engine revving) (coughing) (drums pounding) (protesters shouting) >> Daunte Wright!

>> Say, "Daunte Wright!"

>> Daunte Wright!

>> JANY: There was a certain kind of collective whiplash with what happened in Brooklyn Center with Daunte Wright.

And while it wasn't in Minneapolis, it was the latest in this continuum of white officers killing unarmed Black men.

If anything, it sort of fed this movement towards abolishment, because their underlying argument is that the system is sort of inherently flawed.

It doesn't matter how many reforms you enact, this sort of police violence will always exist unless you completely dismantle the system and start anew.

>> This is amazing.

Look at all my volunteers.

This is great.

As you all know, we're having some crazy times here.

We talk about the things that need to be done.

And some of us sit back and do nothing but talk about it.

We're doing more than that today, we're doing something.

>> JANY: The movement was pushing to get a referendum on the ballot in the upcoming election in November that would essentially replace the MPD with a new public safety agency with more of a public health approach to violence prevention.

>> In the beginning, everyone was hung up on the word "defund," and it was stopping people from being rational and thinking about something new.

This isn't actually eliminating police completely.

It's us reimagining what a public safety department could look like.

Something outside of simply just police.

Okay, we're going to Bloomington.

(knocks on door) Hey, how's it going?

So my name is Antonio, I'm with Yes 4 Minneapolis.

We're out here to establish a new Department of Public Safety.

>> I'm sorry, but I am in, by no means, in favor of eliminating police entirely.

>> Right, right.

>> We need to redefine the position of police.

>> Ah, we need you at the table.

>> Have a good one!

>> Enjoy your day.

This isn't eliminating the police.

This is saying we want a new Department of Public Safety that would include other options when it comes to crime response.

Many of the people who are naysayers are white people.

In my brain, what that says is that you're comfortable, you can afford to be a naysayer, because when you see police, you see protection, you see service.

>> I really don't like the terminology of get rid of the police department.

>> I agree, because, that it's been very harmful because of the fears.

>> Because everybody thinks of a city with no police.

>> Exactly.

Those slogans of "we're here to protect the community, because they have always done that for you."

They haven't done that for people who look like me.

So I see it in that context.

>> We have to step up and get in the way, because our neighbors are getting killed.

It is not okay that our neighbors are getting killed.

>> Absolutely.

Once this gets on the ballot, we'll be reaching out to people, having a conversation.

These are personal issues.

These are things that are close to my community, these things affect me.

Thank you so much.

Let me know if I'm walking too fast-- you don't have to... >> No, you're good.

>> Okay.

(tram bell ringing) >> Coordinating... >> JANY: The movement was getting thousands of signatures, but Mayor Frey held firm in his support of the MPD.

>> Ready to rock?

>> Yep.

>> Let's do it.

I'm proud that I've stood by my values, and when there were people outside my home asking me to abolish the police, I told them the truth, which is that I'm for deep change and structural reform-- but no.

I'm not for abolishing the police.

The question is, "What form does that deep structural change take?"

>> JANY: Frey had approved a number of changes to the department's policy, including doing away with the type of neck restraints that Chauvin used on Floyd.

He beefed up de-escalation and use of force reporting.

>> The most difficult part of being a mayor, regardless of what city you're in, is this combination of public safety and police accountability.

This way?

Good to see you.

>> Nice to see you.

>> Yeah, hey, how you doing?

When I talk to community members, they want to see deep change in the department, they want to see structural reform, they want to see more accountability.

I just haven't heard in any significant numbers the argument to defund or abolish the police.

In fact, I've heard loud and clear from them that they want to make sure their streets are safe, and that their kids can walk outside on the sidewalk without fear or risk of gunshots.

(car horns honking) What's going on here?

>> I see flashing lights way up there.

>> Oh, boy.

>> Developing news this morning.

Day 2 of jury deliberations have just started in the trial of Derek Chauvin.

>> This day here is the day that the Lord has made!

>> Say that!

>> We need a change.

>> The nation preparing for what may come when the verdict is announced.

>> Right here in Minneapolis and cities across the country are preparing for possible unrest.

The national guard has been deployd in Minneapolis in anticipation of a verdict.

>> We're tired of getting killed.

We're tired of having to heal.

In my city, one officer's trial's not even over before 12 recklessly pulling their steel.

Woman or man behind that badge, there's many cowards in disguise overstepping their stand.

>> Just really in the last 15, 20 minutes, this crowd has easily doubled.

People are kind of taking turns taking the microphone, doing chants, reading a poem.

Sort of, I guess, pumping up this crowd... >> We're gonna go right to the courtroom?

>> Yeah, we're gonna go listen in now to the verdict.

>> Members of the jury, I understand you have a verdict.

We the jury in the above- entitled matter as to count one, unintentional second-degree murder while committing a felony, find the defendant guilty.

As to count two, third-degree murder, perpetrating an eminently dangerous act, find the defendant guilty.

Count three, second-degree manslaughter, culpable negligence, creating an unreasonable risk, find the defendant guilty.

>> (cheering in distance) (cheering) >> (sobbing): We matter!

We matter!

>> Black lives matter!

>> We matter!

>> Black lives matter!

Black lives matter!

(chant continues) >> Bail is revoked, bond is discharged, and the defendant is remanded to the custody of the Hennepin County Sheriff.

(car horns honking) >> (sighs) Any reaction to the verdicts?

>> Yes, we're going to change the world.

(car horns honking) >> ♪ These are the good times ♪ ("Good Times" by Chic playing) ♪ ♪ >> Can't believe it.

This is awesome.

>> We are the only race, Black and brown people, that have to negotiate for equality.

>> Come on.

You better say that.

>> And when that verdict came back, it gave us validation, validation that systemic racism is real.

Now we have validation!

So thank you so much and say his name!

>> George Floyd!

>> Say his name!

>> George Floyd!

>> Thank you, thank you.

(cheering and applauding) >> JANY: Even with the guilty verdict, there was still a lot of momentum around the ballot initiative to replace the MPD.

>> Two, four, six... Can someone give me a count and make sure we have 30 boxes?

>> JANY: Ten days after the trial, the Yes 4 Minneapolis movement delivered enough signatures to get the referendum on the ballot.

>> Are one of you Casey?

>> I'm Casey.

>> Hi, Casey, I'm Corenia.

>> Hi.

>> We've been talking.

It's so amazing.

I am just awestruck.

>> So we have now officially received your petition.

(cheering and applauding) >> These signatures that we turned in today, it is a screaming indictment on the old way.

It is saying, "We want something new.

And we want you to hear us and we want you to hear us now."

>> JANY: That time leading up to the election was really challenging for the city.

Around a third of the officers in the police department had left, and violent crime and some of the anxiety around it was going up.

>> Where are we shot, guys?

Chest?

>> JANY: The police administration wouldn't talk about specific cases like Chauvin's and the other three officers still awaiting trial.

But Deputy Chief Amelia Huffman agreed to do an on-camera interview.

>> DC Huffman cannot speak to the Chauvin case, riots, incidents, or specific discipline cases.

>> We are an organization made up of people, the same as every other organization, and sometimes people make mistakes or do things that they shouldn't do, and we need to find those issues and we need to address those issues by holding people accountable, and we always have work to do on that.

Like every human organization, we always have work to do on that.

And we also have work to do on rebuilding relationships and inviting folks in to get to know us, and to get to know folks in the community, in a better way in a variety of ways.

Along with dealing with the serious increases in crime, right?

People are suffering every day in Minneapolis from violent crimes.

Shooting victims, robbery victims, carjacking victims, and we have to do everything that we can to interrupt that increase.

>> All right, let's roll.

>> JANY: It's always been difficult to get rank-and-file cops to talk on the record, but MPD agreed to let a few talk and let us film them on their shifts.

>> To me, it was just a job before George Floyd.

You came in, you answered your calls, and then you went home.

But now people treat us like we are truly the enemy.

>> JANY: One of the officers that we rode along with was Will Gregory, who'd recently been accused of punching a teenager in the face.

The city would eventually settle out of court.

>> We are getting attacked more, and we are encountering people resisting arrest more, and we're getting surrounded more.

It makes me more on edge.

And it makes me look at people differently, which I wish I didn't have to do, but I understand the climate.

I understand people's anger.

>> JANY: Officer Rick Plunkett was still in training when George Floyd was killed.

>> Thank you... >> Yup.

I've seen the video, I'm, like, "Man, that could have been me.

That could have been my son."

So the Black male in me was pissed.

The cop part of me was, like, that's even more of a reason, that's even more of a reason why I got into this field, because to prevent stuff like that.

>> Well, we seen his face, 'cause he was, had the window down and stuff, while he was driving, and we was, like, "Stop, stop!"

>> People are going to get sick and tired of being sick and tired.

The community are going to start seeing that we need more police officers out here, and I'll tell them, "Hey, this ain't us-- talk to your city council.

You guys voted these guys in there," you know?

"Complain to them, don't complain to us, we're doing the best that we can, with the little bit of resources that we have."

(woman speaking on radio) >> Uh-oh, 30 rounds fired.

(recording of gunshots playing) Four cars on lunch and everybody else is busy.

That's what we got to deal with now.

So 30 shots fired, and a block full of gang members shooting at each other and no cops available to go.

(siren blaring in distance) >> JANY: Violent crime was going up, but even amidst all the grief and suffering, there was a series of stories I did during this time that really stuck with me.

A third-grade boy was shot while eating potato chips in the back of his parents' car.

A nine-year-old girl was shot and killed while she was playing on a trampoline during a birthday party.

And then a six-year-old girl was killed down the street from a convenience store.

>> I was just holding the space.

You know, the street team.

We out here from 10:00 to 2:30, 3:00 every night.

>> JANY: Can you tell me about what you guys do every day?

Like, is it lighting the candles and just kind of keeping watch?

>> Keeping watch.

>> JANY: Okay.

>> We want people to feel safe in the neighborhood and be able to walk to the store, and be able to have your kids out here late at night if you feel free, because it's a nice day.

Man, look, it's so much heat on the Minneapolis Police Department, too much scrutiny.

They really don't want to do nothing.

>> JANY: Yeah.

>> So much scrutiny against them.

Like, it's just horrible right now, bro.

♪ ♪ >> JANY: Eventually, the number of shootings would reach a 26- year high, and it became a deeply divisive political issue as people from all fronts demanded something be done.

There is no simple solution.

It's, like, so easy for everyone to have these, like, lofty and abstract conversations about replacing police, or adding more police, or whatever the latest political debate is, without taking into consideration that there is still people living in highly stressful and traumatic situations where there's gunfire outside of their window, and then, on top of that, they've been, like, battered by all these other social forces: poverty, lack of access to healthcare, just, you know, the pandemic has done, and how it's (bleep) with Black and brown communities even more.

(woman talking on radio) Yeah, gunshot victim just showed up at North.

(man talking on radio) It's not like you can just reform or dismantle MPD and it's a job well done, and you're gonna wake up in this utopia.

Like, there's plenty more work to be done.

(person typing) >> So a few weeks before the election, the "Star Tribune" and other outlets band together to ask a polling firm to try to gauge residents' opinions on policing and on public safety in the city.

One of the things we tried to do, too, was to get an especially deep view of Black voters.

>> All of us play a role in healing the community.

>> What we found was that 42% of the Black voters polled supported a proposal to replace the Minneapolis Police Department, but about 75% of them opposed a reduction in the size of the police force.

What that told us was that this is a complicated issue and that people in the community were really trying to sort through all the implications of this proposal.

There was very much a sense that this was going to be a life-and- death issue for a lot of people.

These poll results really cemented the idea that that proposal from Yes 4 Minneapolis could pass or it could fail.

And we sensed there was a very high chance it was going to be a close vote.

>> JANY: A few weeks before the election, a story broke online on the news website "Minnesota Reformer" that just reminded people of why the department was so controversial in the first place.

(people shouting in video) >> As part of a court case, a bunch of body camera videos were released showing a police SWAT team patrolling the streets of Minneapolis a few days after George Floyd's killing.

>> The mayor had set a curfew.

Anyone out on the streets was believed to be in violation of the curfew.

(people shouting) (weapon firing) >> Gotcha!

>> (laughing, exclaiming) >> All right, we're rolling down Lake Street, the first (bleep) we see, we're just hammering them with 40s.

>> Yes, sir!

>> Basically, you have police running around in unmarked vans shooting people with these less lethal projectiles... (weapon firing) ...on the street, screaming at them.

>> Go home!

>> Then there's this one incident, which the city would eventually pay out $1.5 million for.

The police fire a rubber bullet... >> Hit 'im.

>>... at a Black man named Jaleel Stallings, and he fires back at them.

(gun firing) (shouting) >> He's down!

(shouting, grunting) >> That's it, stop it!

>> Thought you had my back!

>> Cuff, cuff, cuff!

>> Afterwards, you can see the officers trying to get their story straight.

>> Who shot?

>> Nobody, he shot at us and he (bleep) gave up.

>> Nice.

>> Anybody shoot?

>> Negative.

>> 100% no officers shot.

>> Not on my van.

>> And none of your officers are hurt, correct?

>> That's correct.

>> Outstanding.

>> This video, I think, really shows a narrative that the police were going around, as they put it, "hunting people."

>> Instead of chasing people around, you guys are out hunting people now, and it's just a nice change of tempo.

>> Yup, agreed.

>> (bleep) these people.

>> I think more than any story in the past few months, as we're heading into this pivotal election, this video got a lot of people talking about what Minneapolis Police do when the city is in crisis, and if those are the people who they want to continue to protect and serve them.

>> JANY: All these issues, from police brutality and excessive use of force to rising crime, it all came to a head when people showed up to vote on Election Day.

>> The fate of the Minneapolis Police Department will be hanging in the hands of voters.

>> This was a historic election for Minneapolis.

People were choosing their mayor, they were choosing their council members.

And the thing that was driving almost every issue in the race was this question of whether or not the city should replace its police department.

>> Excuse me, ma'am, we're with the "Star Tribune."

>> We spoke to a lot of voters who were really torn over which way to vote on this proposal.

>> I don't want to ban the police, no-- we got to keep the police.

I mean, with all the crime and things going on and so forth, man, we need police.

(car horn honks) >> I don't think our current policing structure has been meeting our needs, whether that's mental health, whether that's more E.M.S.

training, whether that's more community-based action.

>> Here's your ballot.

>> Thank you.

>> There were a significant number of them who liked a part of the proposal, but had concerns about the elected officials who would implement it.

>> There was no explanation or guidance on what the plan was going to be after abolishing the police.

>> And now the polls are closed, the ballots being counted as we speak.

>> As it started coming in more and more, it was clear to everyone that we didn't have enough, we didn't have enough votes.

And those feelings started setting in, you know, that, that sick feeling in my gut, the, you know, the tears behind the eyes.

I mean, man, I, you know, we busted our butts.

Blood, sweat, and tears.

>> The effort to replace the Minneapolis Police Department has been rejected by voters.

No took more than 56% of the vote.

>> The police officers can continue to hurt, harm, maim, and kill Black folks on a regular basis, lie about it, and go back on the job.

>> In that mayor race, Mayor Jacob Frey, the incumbent, the first choice.

>> We need deep and structural change to policing in America.

(cheering and applauding) And at the same time, we need police officers to make sure that they are working directly with community to keep us safe.

And there will be many that will try to argue that this is a blow to reform.

That is dead wrong.

(cheering and applauding) Thank you, Minneapolis.

We are coming back!

Minneapolis is on a comeback!

>> This morning, Minneapolis Police Chief Arradondo announcing just a short time ago that he will not be seeking another term.

>> I believe that now is the right time to allow for new leadership, new perspective, new focus, and new hope to lead the department forward in collaboration with our communities.

>> JANY: Arradondo's retirement caught some people by surprise, myself included, especially considering the timing of it so soon after a very pivotal election.

>> This, at the end of the day, it's what I feel is best for the department, certainly for my own personal well-being.

>> Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey appoints an interim police chief.

>> Deputy Chief Amelia Huffman has been named as Frey's pick to succeede Arradondo... >> Good morning.

>> Good morning.

>> I am humbled and honored to be selected as the interim chief.

>> JANY: Huffman stated her intention to carry on some of the reforms that Arradondo had championed during his time as chief, including strengthening some of the training around officers stepping in and intervening when they see their colleagues do something that violates policy.

About two weeks after she took over the department, there was another police killing.

>> Developing right now, Minneapolis Police shoot and kill an armed man while serving a search warrant this morning.

>> JANY: A Black man was killed during a no-knock raid that was carried out by the Minneapolis Police Department, specifically the SWAT unit, in a very high-end high-rise apartment in downtown Minneapolis.

>> I was just wondering if you've been briefed on the latest with MPD and St. Paul.

>> JANY: The MPD's initial press release labeled the victim a suspect.

>> We're just trying to figure out what the hell is going on.

>> JANY: But that story would quickly unravel when we found out the man they'd shot, Amir Locke, wasn't the subject of the search warrant.

>> Amir Locke was a 22-year-old DoorDash delivery driver and aspiring rapper who was staying with family in the Twin Cities.

He had no criminal record-- none.

>> JANY: Within 48 hours of the shooting, the body camera footage was released.

It showed the police entering the apartment without knocking.

>> Police search warrant!

Police search warrant!

(shouting in video) >> JANY: Amir Locke appeared to be asleep, he was under a blanket, and as he rose, he was seen to have a gun in his hand.

(guns firing) This isn't the first time that it's happened, you know, especially as it relates to these no-knock warrants.

There have been other high- profile incidents around the country, most notably with the case of Breonna Taylor.

>> Why was Amir Locke referred to as a suspect in the MPD's press release?

>> I don't know.

Can you speak to that?

>> So, yesterday, at the time that we were putting out the press release, we didn't have as much information as we have now, of course, and so it's unclear...

It was certainly unclear yesterday... >> Watching that press conference was just infuriating, because as a city official, how do you allow it to happen again?

How do you allow your communications department to put out a release that is not accurate?

They should have learned their lesson after George Floyd.

>> Lord, Perry, he leading the pack.

God, look at all those names.

Philando.

Breonna Taylor.

Aiyana Jones.

David Matay.

Rashad Brooks.

Tanya Blanding.

Miriam Carey.

Troy Robinson.

De'Von Bailey.

We, we see you.

(exhales) Through all of this, there was a lot of love that poured out for Perry.

That poured out to the family.

I don't know if I will ever in a lifetime see that type of love again.

>> JANY: I remember, this interview always sticks out in my head, like, a few weeks after George Floyd, I sat down with a former City of Minneapolis employee who's Black.

He just said that he gave all of his Black friends, like, the advice, "Hey, whatever you want to do in life, do it now, because in this moment in time, there's, like, a certain level of sympathy for your plight.

People care about Black people.

But that's a small window in time, and eventually, you're going to start being treated as, like, a second-class citizen again."

>> Now to a scathing report released today by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, after a lengthy investigation into Minneapolis Police.

>> A two-year investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department finds a pattern of racial discrimination going back more than a decade.

>> ...as well as regularly using racist and misogynistic language.

>> ...and efficient systems designed to not hold officers accountable for misconduct.

(woman speaking on radio) >> JANY: I think the May 26, 2020, version of me would've been surprised by where the police department and the city are now.

It's down hundreds of police officers, and although Chief Arradondo is retired and there's a new interim chief, a lot of the leadership is in fact intact, like, a lot of people that were in positions of power during the George Floyd saga still have their jobs.

In a lot of respects, the police department of today very much resembles that of the one that existed before George Floyd's death.

You know, it kind of begs the question of how much has really changed.

And then how much has really changed in society.

>> Go to pbs.org/frontline for more of our coverage with our partners at the Star Tribune .

>> There’d been a long history of heavy-handed policing and police violence.

>> Part of our local journalism initiative... >> I just don’t know how we’re going to get through the next two months here like I just was sort of like I don’t know if I’m ready for it.

>> And a Q&A with the producers of the film.

Connect with FRONTLINE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and watch anytime on the PBS Video App, YouTube or pbs.org/frontline.

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org.

>> For more on this and other Frontline programs visit our website at pbs.org/frontline.

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