Tag: Minneapolis Police

Minneapolis police officer fired for decorating racist Fourth Precinct Christmas tree gets job back

The officer was ordered to serve a 320-hour suspension. 

A former Minneapolis police officer who was fired for decorating a Christmas tree with racist items two years ago should get his job back, an arbitrator has ruled.

The arbitrator said that Mark Bohnsack was wrongly terminated for the November 2018 incident that also resulted in the firing of another cop, but that Bohnsack must serve a 320-hour suspension without pay, officials said. The city has a right to appeal the decision.

It comes amid renewed scrutiny of the arbitration process in the wake of the killing of George Floyd, which touched off protests worldwide against systemic racism and policy brutality. Continue reading.

Daily Mail publishes leaked bodycam footage of George Floyd arrest, killing

Daily Mail claims George Floyd footage was leaked to the media company.

A British media company on Monday published segments of two leaked body-worn camera videos showing the arrest and death of George Floyd in May at the hands of Minneapolis police.

The Daily Mail published an article with the videos on its website at 10:53 a.m. Central time. It showed about 10 minutes of video from former officer Thomas Lane’s bodycam and about 18 minutes from former officer J. Alexander Kueng’s bodycam.

The two former officers’ bodycam videos were made available for public viewing inside the Hennepin County courthouse in mid-July, but were prohibited from being recorded or publicly distributed. Continue reading.

Bodycam video shows officer pulled gun on George Floyd early on

Video from body cameras worn by two of the officers involved in the killing of George Floyd was viewed by the public for the first time.

Body-worn camera footage from former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane showed that George Floyd was given no explanation for why he was being questioned before Lane pointed a gun and swore at him, touched him multiple times and forced him out of his vehicle into the street.

The court made footage captured by Lane and fellow fired officer J. Alexander Kueng publicly viewable Wednesday by appointment. Sixty-six spaces were made available at one-hour increments to watch the videos that totaled about 65 minutes.

Lane and Kueng, along with onetime colleague Tou Thao, are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in connection with Floyd’s death while he was under arrest on May 25 at E. 38th Street and S. Chicago Avenue. Another fired officer, Derek Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-murder and second-degree manslaughter. Continue reading.