Minneapolis reflects on 5 years since George Floyd's death
Share this @internewscast.com

Sunday marked the fifth anniversary of the incident where Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, held his knee on the neck of George Floyd, a Black man, for 9 1/2 minutes, resulting in Floyd’s death.

MINNEAPOLIS — Since Memorial Day 2020, when George Floyd was killed by a police officer, some aspects in Minneapolis have improved, while others remain unchanged.

Sunday commemorated five years since Officer Derek Chauvin’s actions led to the death of George Floyd, as he pinned Floyd’s neck to the ground for 9 1/2 minutes.

A tidal wave of racial justice protests erupted in U.S. cities. Demonstrators chanted Floyd’s dying words: “I can’t breathe.” The protests were mostly peaceful at first but some turned violent, and parts of Minneapolis have yet to recover from the rioting, looting and arson. And the city is still struggling to decide what should become of the intersection where Floyd was killed.

The Minneapolis Police Department has faced some changes under court supervision that aim to reduce racial disparities. Violent crime, which spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic and after Floyd’s death, is mostly back around pre-pandemic levels, although homicides are inching up.

A place of pilgrimage

The intersection where a crowd of concerned onlookers urged Chauvin and other officers to heed Floyd’s dying cries quickly became known as George Floyd Square.

A large sculpture of a clenched fist is just one of the tributes to Floyd. He died steps from the Cup Foods convenience store that has since been renamed Unity Foods. The area draws visitors from around the world.

One visitor last week was Alfred “A.J.” Flowers Jr., a local activist, who said the police killings of young Black men before Floyd’s murder only fueled the frustration and rage that erupted on the streets five years ago.

It’s significant that the Black community tends to come together at “places where we die, whether it’s by our own hands or by police violence,” Flowers said.

The fate of George Floyd Square

A majority of City Council members support building a pedestrian-only mall where Floyd drew his final breaths, but Mayor Jacob Frey and many property and business owners oppose the idea of closing the area to all vehicles. Any final decisions remain a long way off.

In the meantime, businesses in the neighborhood are struggling and crime remains high.

Flowers urged authorities to provide more support for Black-owned businesses, housing, education and crime prevention to improve the local economy.

The shell of the 3rd Precinct police station, which was allowed to burn during the unrest in 2020, has been the subject of intense debate. The City Council last month voted to proceed with a plan to build a “Democracy Center” there that would house voter services and a community space.

The former chief of police has said he doesn’t regret the decision to abandon the structure.

The demise of defund the police

The slogan “Defund the Police” caught fire after Floyd’s death, but it never came to pass. While a majority of council members initially backed the idea, what appeared on the city ballot in 2021 was a more modest attempt to reimagine policing. Voters rejected it.

The police force lost hundreds of officers following the unrest. From nearly 900 in early 2020, the ranks fell to less than 600 as officers retired, took disability or went to work elsewhere. Staffing started to recover last year.

Officers are now back engaging with the community at George Floyd Square, which became a “no-go zone” for police immediately after Floyd’s death. Flowers acknowledged there have been “significant strides” in community-police relations.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara said his “officers are starting to heal.”

“I think they’re starting to be proud of what they do again, getting back to the reasons they got into this profession in the first place,” he told reporters last week.

Remaking policing

President Donald Trump’s administration moved Wednesday to cancel agreements to overhaul the police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, both accused of widespread abuses.

Frey, the mayor, decried the timing of the announcement as “political theater” in the week before the anniversary of Floyd’s murder.

National reform advocates also denounced the administration’s move. But O’Hara and Frey pledged Minneapolis would move forward, with or without the White House. The police department is also operating under a consent decree with the Minnesota Human Rights Department.

The decree proposes addressing race-based policing and strengthening public safety by ensuring officers only use reasonable force, never punish or retaliate, and de-escalate conflicts when possible, among other aims.

The mayor and chief noted that Minneapolis got high marks in a report released Tuesday by a nonprofit that monitors various cities’ compliance with consent decrees.

Activists cautioned that Minneapolis has little to brag about.

“We understand that change takes time,” Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said in a statement last week. “However, the progress being claimed by the city is not being felt in the streets.”

Associated Press videographer Mark Vancleave contributed to this story.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.     

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Keir’s Small Boat Strategy Fails to Discourage Crossings – French Accused of Inaction by Immigration Chief

By Julia Hartley-Brewer IMAGINE you live in a basket case country like…
Prosecution's 'inconsistencies' in prep school murder trial led to suspect's acquittal: jury foreman

Jury Foreman: ‘Inconsistencies’ in Prosecution’s Case Resulted in Acquittal in Prep School Murder Trial

The jury’s foreman in Raul Valle’s murder trial, who was found not…
Illustration of the Poseidon underwater drone.

Putin’s Main Spokesperson Warns of “Radioactive Tsunami” with Nuclear Torpedoes as Trump Approves Arms for Ukraine

PUTIN’S chief propagandist has warned Russia could wipe out both coasts of…
'Freakier Friday': Behind-the-scenes look at Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis on set of the new Disney sequel

‘Freaky Friday’ Sequel: Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes with Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis on the Disney Set

Take an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of “Freakier Friday,” the sequel to the…
Drum Corps International: Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps preparing for home DCI performance at Benedictine University in Lisle

Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps Gears Up for DCI Show at Benedictine University in Lisle

LISLE, Ill. (WLS) — A local drum and bugle corps is making…
Trump calls Butler widow, Secret Service agrees to meeting after call for accountability

Trump Phones Widow of Butler: Secret Service Accepts Meeting Following Demand for Responsibility

The widow of Corey Comperatore, a victim of a shooting at a…
Aftermath of a Russian missile strike in Lviv, Ukraine.

NATO Jets Mobilized as Putin Executes Major Assault on Ukraine with 700 Drones and Hypersonic Missile

NATO fighter jets were scrambled overnight after Russia launched one of the…
Photo of a man and his granddaughter.

Granddaughter’s Desperate Appeal After Grandfather Disappears Following 8,000-Mile Journey for Her Graduation

A grandfather vanished just a day after undertaking a journey of over…
Kendra G, Raven Smith join Windy City Weekend; Val and Ryan talk Bud Billiken Parade, Windy City Smokeout, new movies

Kendra G and Raven Smith Team Up on ‘Windy City Weekend’; Val and Ryan Discuss Bud Billiken Parade, Windy City Smokeout, and Upcoming Movies.

CHICAGO (WLS) — On Friday morning, Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini invited…
Photo of Carolina Wilga at a petrol station.

Backpacker Carolina Winger, 26, Found Alive After Nearly Two Weeks Lost in Australian Wilderness

A GERMAN backpacker missing for nearly two weeks in the remote Australian…

22-Year-Old Woman Allegedly Murdered by Online Acquaintance After Expressing Friendship Intentions; ‘Gruesome Scene’ Discovered

A 22-year-old woman reportedly told a man that she wasn’t interested in…
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed shortly after his capture.

Guantanamo Bay Trial May Lead to Death Sentence for 9/11 Architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

THE chief architect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks could be sentenced to death after…