Report from Minneapolis

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I live in Minneapolis.

I'm not very close to the unrest, but I'm very familiar with the areas where Lloyd was killed and where the police precinct building burned. And I'm also aware of the MPD's long history of racism, even in this otherwise politically liberal city. I think the mayor and police chief did the right thing by firing the cops but they have no control over the prosecution. The county attorney, Mike Freeman, has made a mistake, I think, by not causing the officers to be arrested yet, and I'm wondering why he hasn't done it. First-degree murder has to be charged by a grand jury indictment but it would be possible to arrest them on the basis of a complaint charging a lesser offense. Maybe he was afraid people would be upset at a lesser offense charge, since most people don't know how the process works. But Freeman is not really a very effective prosecutor; he seems weak and indecisive (he dawdled inexcusably over charging a previous case where an officer shot an innocent woman in an alley). If Freeman can't get the job done the prosecution needs to be handed over to someone who can. I'm also not confident that the US Attorney will prosecute the civil rights claim either (this is Barr's DoJ, after all). I do recognize that there are legal hurdles because both the state and federal statutes require proof of intent, and the cops have lawyered up and pled the 5th. It all has to start with arrests, though, and soon.