Lawlessness Or Good Job: Minneapolis People Divided Over Police In Wake Of Floyd's Death

Brutal detention with hand-wringing and a day at the police station, this is how an African American man named Randy describes his experience with Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was recently charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter after pinning George Floyd to the ground for more than eight minutes before the detainee became unresponsive

MINNEAPOLIS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th June, 2020) Brutal detention with hand-wringing and a day at the police station, this is how an African American man named Randy describes his experience with Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was recently charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter after pinning George Floyd to the ground for more than eight minutes before the detainee became unresponsive.

Floyd, an unarmed 46-year-old black man, died in Minneapolis shortly after the encounter with Chauvin on May 25. The incident triggered mass demonstrations against police brutality and racism across the United States. Some protests have turned into violent riots that include arson and widespread looting. The Minneapolis Police Department's Third Precinct headquarters, where Chauvin worked, was burned by protesters. On Monday, Chauvin appeared in court for the first time.

Randy and his little daughter are standing in line for free groceries on Lake Street in front of the Third Precinct headquarters in Minneapolis as the city is coming back to life after protests. Randy, who used to live in the area of the Third Precinct, was detained by Chauvin back in 2014.

"He [Chauvin] has zero tolerance towards black people. He has zero tolerance," Randy told Sputnik while describing his experience with the police officer.

According to Randy, Chauvin detained him and four other African American men, claiming that they were hanging around suspiciously. In fact, Randy said, they were heading for a store.

Randy added that Chauvin was rough with him and tried to hurt him. The police officer put the five of them in jail for about six hours and then released them. While in jail, they feared that the police officers could hang any case, they did not know about, on them.

"God do not like ugly. And I know it was all going to come back on him," Randy said referring to Chauvin's upcoming court hearing.

According to Randy, the reputation of the Third Precinct was bad, as everyone in the police station was corrupt and had caused suffering to many people. At the same time, Randy added, for some unknown reason, people were taken to the station from other areas.

"You tell me why they would do that," Randy said, refusing to put forward his own version on why he was taken from the northern district of Minneapolis to a police station in the southern district of the city.

According to Steven, a 35-year-old African American man who lives in a private house near Lake Street, communication with the police in this area and the city, in general, is risky.

"They [police officers] are around a lot, you still need them, but everyone ... is kind of worried about what they are going to do when they show up," Steven told Sputnik.

Steven developed such an attitude toward officers after, at the age of 12, he and his friend called the police when they saw someone breaking into a house. It all ended up with Steven and his friend being detained. The police subsequently released them.

"Maybe they did not believe us, so they wanted to scare us. Something like that. Do not know," Steven added.

The second incident took place when Steven was about 20 years old. According to him, he was at home with a roommate in the evening when his dog began to sniff around as if there was someone outside the house. Stephen, holding the dog by the collar, went to the door to check what was happening.

"I did not see this dude, but out of nowhere, this cop pops out of nowhere, points his gun at me and says 'Put the ... dog inside and put your ... hands up,'" Steven said.

Steven said that he put the dog inside and did not go outside after that. The policeman did not appear again, and it remained unknown what he was doing near the house, Steven added.

Another incident took place in the winter when Steven was returning home from work late at night. He was stopped by police officers who forced him to take off his jacket and hat and put his hands up.

"I had to do that. Again, I do not know what they wanted," Steven said, adding that everything worked out back then.

According to him, it is better to refrain from calling the police and only do this as a last resort. In his case, Steven said, the police officer's behavior could have been caused by his skin color, but officers are rough with practically everyone. Stephen does not fully believe that there will be changes after the Floyd incident.

"It is a big challenge. It is a big undertaking to restructure an institution that has fingers and arms in different parts of the justice system. So my gut tells me no. But ... [we] get to hope," Steven added.

NOT ALL POLICE OFFICERS BAD, BUT MANY OF THEM

A Latin-American-looking man named Victor, who spent 16 years on the streets but now this period of his life was over, also told Sputnik about distrust toward the Minneapolis Police Department. The man is sure that his past, when police officers detained him more than once under the pretext that he looked like a wanted criminal, had affected him.

"When somebody broke into my fiancee's house, she called them [the police] ... They said 'Oh, well, if nothing is stolen, we are not even going to take a report.' Somebody broke into her house. That is breaking and entering. That is illegal," Victor said, adding that this is not serving and protecting.

According to Victor, such a reaction was the result of the fact that police officers remembered him from his past detentions. Victor said he was once detained for "literally nothing" while he was just walking along a street.

"I am not going to say all cops are bad, because I met really good ones," Victor said, noting that he had met good police officers in less prosperous neighborhoods.

Victor went on to say that there were many stories about a brown man being suddenly detained by police officers. He added that his fiancee, who worked in a store, had repeatedly called him, saying that the police had just beaten someone in front of the store or took someone to the station.

Despite the fact that there are many cases of police brutality, not all people in Minneapolis have encountered inappropriate police behavior. According to Rene, an African American woman who has lived in the area of the Third Precinct for 16 years, she never faced problems with police officers.

"I moved here [to the US] in 1990, and I have been in this area about 16 years. It's very quiet ... I have not ever had a problem [with police officers]. They have always been helpful when I needed," Rene told Sputnik.

According to Rene, she has a son with a mental disorder who lives on the street.

"From time to time, I have to call the police, you know, if I am worried about him or find information or come here, give information [as his parent]," Rene said.

Wayne Wether, a 77-year-old white man, who has lived in the area of the Third Precinct for 15 years and whose house is located near the Lake Street, told Sputnik that the police station used to have a very good reputation.

"I think they had a pretty good reputation, for what I can tell. I think they are responsive and helpful ... I have not seen the violence," Wether said.

The man also said that even though he had a good impression of the police, the Floyd case was "out of place."

"Now, I have a mixed impression. I think many of the police, whose I have known and seen, are pretty professional and do good job. And they are doing fine. I think we need to change some policies, obviously, like the choke," Wether said.

According to Wether, the Floyd case served as a kind of an alarm bell for him, though it did not shake his confidence in the police. Chauvin should be held accountable for Floyd's murder, Wether added.

Chauvin may face up to 40 years of imprisonment. Three other officers who were at the scene of the incident were fired and charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter.