Minnesota House raises $ 35 million in security fund for officers’ trials

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A proposal by Gov. Tim Walz to create a $ 35 million fund to bolster security during the murder trial of a former Minneapolis officer accused of killing George Floyd stranded Monday in the house of the Democrat-controlled Minnesota on Monday when leaders withdrew the bill, acknowledging they lacked enough votes to pass it.

Only three weeks left ahead of trial House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler of Golden Valley abruptly decided to postpone debate indefinitely after accusing the Republican-controlled Senate of “cynical and amoral politics, playing with people’s lives. “. Legislative leaders and the governor must now scramble to find an alternative or be content with existing resources.

Instead of providing state money, the Senate voted 35-32 to pass a very different proposal that would allow the state to seize money that Minneapolis gets from the state’s local government assistance program to ensure that other law enforcement agencies are reimbursed for their agent contribution costs for what should be a massive security effort.

Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park admitted at a press conference that House Democrats, who only hold a 70-64 majority, are not united. She said they needed “a few Republican votes” to pass the bill, but were told they were not getting any.

Winkler said before interrupting the debate that it was impossible to meet the Senate halfway. He accused GOP senators of using their debate to “demonize, attack and exacerbate the trauma of people who have already suffered so much.”

Walz had proposed a $ 35 million State and Emergency Aid (SAFE) account it would reimburse local governments, not just Minneapolis, for their mutual aid for “unforeseen or extraordinary public safety events.” They would include, but are not limited to, the trial of Derek Chauvin, which is expected to gain worldwide attention when it opens on March 8, and the August trial of three other former officers indicted in the case.

Local, state and federal authorities have been preparing for protests and potential civil unrest for months. They fear a repeat of the violence which erupted after the protests began in Minneapolis and spread around the world, leading to a national breed assessment. Floyd, a handcuffed black man, died on May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for several minutes as Floyd said he couldn’t breathe.

Walz cleared the Minnesota National Guard earlier this month to deploy in preparation. But the Guard is not considered a law enforcement agency and must partner with the police to prevent or respond to any unrest. He had said that the SAFE account would ensure that there were enough officers in the field. The governor came under Republican criticism last summer for failing to send the guard earlier to quell the unrest.

Senate Republicans said during debate on their bill that taxpayers in Minnesota and other communities should not have to bail out Minneapolis, where the police department has more than 200 deployable officers. under his authorized force and some members of the council pushed to defund or dismantle the department. Republican Senator Bill Weber, from Luverne, also cited the city’s $ 8 million cut to its police budget.

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka of East Gull Lake said Minnesota residents across the state are “very, very frustrated with the city of Minneapolis, the leadership that has spoken time and time again. of defunding the police, and worse than that, on a regular basis. base, spoke about it terribly.

Democrats and groups representing cities and counties in Minnesota said the welfare system is already working well. They warned against undermining a system that benefits communities large and small across the state. Senator Erin Murphy, of Saint-Paul, cited several examples of communities helping each other in disasters and emergencies, including last week’s shooting at a medical clinic. in Buffalo, Minnesota, which left one person dead and four others injured.

“We are here today to provide a solution to a problem that does not exist,” she said.

Hortman told reporters she was already in talks with Gazelka and the Republican House leaders on what to follow. Winkler said preparations for Chauvin’s trial will go ahead and do not depend on approval of the SAFE account.