29-03-21, 12:12
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re: George Floyd Trial Chauvins’ Defence Faces Uphill Battle
Minneapolis Struggles to Change Policing as Officers' Trial Set to Begin
A police officers' trial in the death of George Floyd is about to pull a spotlight back to the place that launched conversations around the world about policing and racial equity: Minneapolis.
CBC 29 MAR 2021.
Opening arguments today in the murder and manslaughter trial of officer Derek Chauvin will return this city to the news and prompt scrutiny over whether policing has actually changed since last year.
Justice-reform advocate Billie Jean Van Knight was blunt in her assessment of how far Minneapolis has gotten in terms of changing policing in her city. "Nowhere," says the activist with the Racial Justice Network. "Unfortunately, we have not changed. We've actually stepped back a little bit."
A headline-grabbing vow last year from city officials to disband the Minneapolis police department has quietly dissolved. Talk of defunding the police has been replaced by the funding to hire new officers, amid a flood of personnel departures, with a surge in violent crime unfolding in the backdrop.
At the federal level, reform efforts have lost steam. Yet, despite all this, several activists say they remain hopeful, including Van Knight, as numerous reform initiatives persist in cities across the country — including in Minneapolis, where there's talk of a referendum this fall on reorganizing the role of police.
(FULL LIVE STREAM)
More on This Issue
 Read more about policing changes in Minneapolis.
What you need to know about the trial of Derek Chauvin, officer charged in death of George Floyd.
George Floyd remembered around the world in posters, murals and other street art.
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