Minneapolis braces for verdict in George Floyd's death

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Jury deliberations began Monday afternoon in former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin’s trial in the death of George Floyd. Now, officials in Minnesota are stressing the importance of keeping the peace during and after the jury deliberates. The campaign is called “Operation Safety Net.”

Monday, the Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo talked about tactics for law enforcement.

“We operate under that sanctity of life and also about de-escalation,” Chief Medaria said. “So while we all have that ability to realize less lethal, the number one focus for us is de-escalation. We don’t want to use force if we don’t have to, so de-escalation about community, conversations, community, allowing folks if curfews are in effect and communication out there, in the event if they have to put out dispersal orders. All of those are things that we are trying to make sure we don’t have to resort to that.”

This happened after the judge denied the defense motion for a mistrial. At issue were comments made by Democratic Representative Maxine Waters about the trial calling for protesters to ‘get more confrontational’ if a guilty verdict isn’t reached.

The judge criticized Waters while denying the defense’s argument that her comments could prejudice the jury.

The jury will stay sequestered until they reach a verdict.

Chauvin’s charges include second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.