The Minnesota House moved a DFL-crafted plan for greater police accountability through three committees Monday after a marathon hearing over the weekend. State Senate Republicans are set to begin working on a much smaller plan Tuesday, as some in the GOP say the House is moving too quickly.
Minnesota will distribute $841 million in federal money to smaller local governments under the federal CARES Act, on top of $361 million Congress gave directly to Hennepin and Ramsey counties.
There were to be speakers, music, performances and remembrances. Organizers had planned to gather 10,000 people to the streets of downtown Duluth, where on June 15, 1920, three young black men were lynched from a street light by a mob of the same size, after being falsely accused of raping a white woman.
A 911 dispatcher who was apparently watching in real time as a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into the neck of George Floyd called a supervisor to tell him what she saw, not caring if it made her look like a “snitch." The recording of the call was made public Monday.
The incident began shortly after midnight, when two St. Cloud police officers were investigating a report of a person with a firearm outside a business. They subdued the teen and took him into custody, Chief Blair Anderson said. But rumors quickly began to circulate on social media that police had shot a black man.
Roxxanne O’Brien is confronting the anguish of seeing yet another black person die at the hands of police. She is now working with others on the north side of Minneapolis to make changes for greater community safety and accountability.
The newest counts come as the pace of the outbreak continues to show signs of slowing, although state health officials in recent days warned the situation could worsen if safety measures aren’t followed.
To mark the 100 years that have passed since the lynching, organizers planned to bring another 10,000 people to the spot where three black men were killed — to say their names and ensure their story is not forgotten. The pandemic squelched those plans, but a tragedy in Minneapolis brought people back to the streets.