By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
George Floyd woke up on May 25, 2020 with no inkling it would be the last day of his life.
Though thousands were dying nationwide on a daily basis in the COVID-19 pandemic, the 46-year-old African-American’s life was taken – not from a virus– but a different type of threat: an interaction with violent, careless members of the Minneapolis Police Department.
After being arrested for allegedly making a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill, a White officer named Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes.
Floyd was handcuffed, lying face-down on a Minnesota street.
Two other police officers assisted Chauvin in restraining Floyd, while a fourth police officer prevented bystanders from intervening.
In the end, officials would determine his death to be a homicide. Protests took place across the nation. Riots broke out in Minneapolis. And across the country businesses and wealthy philanthropists began to make large donations to fund initiatives and projects in Floyd’s name, promising to give back to Black communities facing both coronavirus and racial injustice.
On March 12, 2021, Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Floyd’s family. And Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison led a team of lawyers, that included both colleagues and members of his staff, in successfully convincing a jury that Chauvin and his three colleagues were guilty as charged. Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison.
Ellison, 61, is the first African American and the first Muslim American to be elected to statewide office in Minnesota. He has served as the State’s 30th attorney general since being sworn in on January 7, 2019.
Now, as the nation marks the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, Ellison speaks to the case, describes the man at the center of a global call to action and considers the road ahead in securing laws and policies that might beat back the prevalence of police brutality and racism, while also bolster police accountability.
AFRO: In your role as attorney general of Minnesota, you’ve had conversations with the family of George Perry Floyd Jr. What kind of man was he and what were some of his dreams that he was unable to achieve because of his untimely death?
Keith Ellison: George Floyd was an interesting guy who began life in a typical African American way. He was born in Fayetteville, N.C., and while his parents were not married, he grew up surrounded by those who loved him.
His mother, as a single parent, worked hard to care for him and his brothers, and then moved from a segregated community in North Carolina to one in Houston, Texas, Cuney Homes. As a public housing complex, it remains one of the city’s oldest low-income communities. That’s where he spent his formative years.
In 2014, he moved to the Minneapolis area.
He was a big guy– six feet, four inches and 220 pounds. He was tall, agile and a good athlete. But no one has ever described him as being a “tough guy.” I received a letter from his second-grade teacher who shared that in one assignment, he said he wanted to become a judge like Thurgood Marshall. Unfortunately, as he moved to high school and then to junior college, his grades suffered, and he eventually dropped out of school.
At some point, around the age of 19 or 20, he was confronted with what it means to be a young, Black man in America with few options. He tried his hand as a rap artist, but that apparently didn’t pan out. He had several brushes with the law but in at least one situation, a police officer who arrested him in an alleged set up, was later convicted for having committed several illegal actions and sentenced to multiple years in prison. George faced an unforgiving world, and we know him not because he was an angel, but because he became a martyr.
AFRO: In several accounts, you refer to Chauvin, the officer convicted for the murder of Floyd, as “small.” Why do you mention his stature?
KE:. When I first saw Chauvin in the courtroom, I remember expecting to see a huge man. After all, someone who had done something so horrific, something so wicked to another human being, had to be a big man. I just assumed that the size of the wickedness would match the size of the man. Chauvin seemed so plain and ordinary that it was initially hard for me to imagine him being such a callous man capable of murder.
AFRO: How were you able to secure the rare conviction of a police officer for an on-duty death?
KE: As the prosecuting team, one of the main things we did was center on the people who had been on the scene when George was detained and physically restrained. Some people were already there as things unfolded while others joined the crowd out of curiosity. We focused on the words and actions of people who were there yelling and trying to save George’s life. Darnella Frazier, 17, who recorded his murder and posted her video on social media, was there with her cousin, Judea, who was just nine. Genevieve Hansen, an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter and EMT would be a key witness at the trial.
Charles McMillian, another bystander around 61 years old, tried to use psychology to persuade the police officers to ease up on George and just put him in the police car. Donald Williams II, also testified for the prosecution and witnessed what happened. When I watched the video of the trial later, I realized that Donald and my kids had been on the same wrestling team when they were children. It was a diverse, eclectic group of people, various ages and different races who all asked the police to treat George Floyd with respect.
AFRO: Can you tell us about the team of attorneys you chose to help you with the case?
KE: One attorney, Jerry Blackwell, who helped me try the case, and is a friend of mine, described the pool of witnesses as a “bouquet of humanity.” He was a bigtime litigator then who has since become a federal district court judge. I knew we would need the sharpest minds available if we wanted to win the case and when I asked him for his help, he not only agreed but he worked for free. The same can be said about another attorney who joined us at my request, Steve Schleicher. And then, there was my own team from the attorney general’s office who also did an excellent job. Picking the right team was instrumental in how we won. Lining up the right witnesses was key, too. But it was the protestors who were the major factor – folks who went out into the streets and demanded that the case be handed to an independent prosecutor – to someone like me – who made the difference.
AFRO: In previous interviews with other members of the press, you’ve said that despite the successful conviction achieved in the Chauvin case, you believe that wider police reform is necessary. You have also been critical of efforts for such reform having stalled in Congress. Can you say more?
KE: One thing that has not happened is Congress passing the George Floyd Justice and Policing Act. In addition, officer-involved deaths with civilians have increased over the past year. I applaud the efforts of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass who got the Act through the House of Representatives. However, in the Senate, Corey Booker worked with Tim Scott, but they just could not secure the needed Republican votes.
Still, there’s good news locally, here in Minnesota. We have severely restricted no-knock warrants and high-speed chases. And the Police Officers Standards and Training Board have been given greater authority. In the city of Minneapolis, we have reorganized public safety so that it’s more connected with health and youth violence programs. These are the kinds of things that need to happen at the federal level, too.
After the Chauvin trial, it took us some time to rebuild the public’s trust. Black people want a relationship with the police, but we don’t want bad police officers patrolling our communities. You may hear leftwing, progressive university students talk about defunding the police. But that’s not what Black people are saying. We have a strange relationship with the police because we tend to be overpoliced and under protected. What makes it difficult to secure a positive relationship is racism. Racism is often the reason that police are unable to engage with Black communities – people who want a good relationship and even believe that such a level of mutual trust can and should be a reality.
