MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The death of George Floyd is sparking calls for the Minnesota Legislature to remove racial inequities from the criminal justice system in the state where he died and to aid…
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The death of George Floyd is sparking calls for the Minnesota Legislature to remove racial inequities from the criminal justice system in the state where he died and to aid neighborhoods damaged in unrest that followed.
But it’s not clear yet how far lawmakers will go when they reconvene in a special session Friday, given that Republicans who control the Senate have been cool to major changes. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said his top priority instead will be trying to terminate the emergency executive powers that he contends Democratic Gov. Tim Walz abused while responding to both the coronavirus and the sometimes violent protests that spread worldwide from Minneapolis.
That hasn’t sat well with Democratic lawmakers who want change now in response to the death of Floyd, who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into the handcuffed black man’s neck for several minutes even after Floyd stopped moving and pleading for air.
“Black folks are sick and tired of literally suffering from people telling them to wait until the moment is right,” said Senate Assistant Minority Leader Jeff Hayden, an African American whose district was the site of the encounter.
Democratic lawmakers and governors in several states, including Wisconsin, New Jersey, Arizona and Oregon, are hoping to harness the anger over Floyd’s death to remake law enforcement, including new restrictions on the use of force.
