Minneapolis is beginning to grapple with its racial injustices past and present amid the George Floyd protests.
Then Floyd died, protests erupted, and Steward’s PTSD worsened. At the department’s 2nd Precinct, he supervised officers who felt constantly threatened. He was devastated when city leaders let protesters overrun the 3rd Precinct to the south, near where Floyd died.
“That was a message to the extreme left that if we push with enough violence, we can take over certain aspects of society,” Steward said during an interview this week at his attorney’s office in the suburb of Eden Prairie.
MINNEAPOLIS
Relatives of Black men who died at the hands of Twin Cities police took to the streets, confronting officers in riot gear and demanding accountability. Businesses struggled to stay afloat as others were boarded up or
burned. More than a dozen police officers resigned almost immediately; hundreds more suffered post-traumatic stress.
A year later, Minneapolis has rebounded. Tensions eased after a jury last month convicted former officer Derek Chauvin of murder. Many businesses shed their plywood armor.
But Floyd’s death set many Twin Cities residents on an emotional journey that didn’t end with the trial. Some broke down, considered suicide, left jobs, lost employees, started nonprofits, led protests, had babies, visited or refused to visit the site where Floyd died.
Reports of gunshots near George Floyd Square on the anniversary of his death
AFP via Getty Images
Police responded to reports of gunfire Tuesday near the place where George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer one year ago.
One person was transferred to Hennepin County Medical Center with a non-life-threatening injury after arriving at Abbott Northwestern Hospital with a gunshot wound, police said. CNN has contacted the medical center for additional information.
Photos from the scene showed a bullet casing on the ground in the area, and a man boarding up a shattered window at a barber shop after shots were fired.
George Floyd one year later: Minneapolis celebrations, moment of silence
By FOX 9 Staff
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Tuesday marks one year since George Floyd was killed while being arrested by Minneapolis police officers.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020. Now-fired officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of his murder earlier this spring. The three other former officers charged in Floyd’s death will stand trial together next year. All four ex-officers are also facing federal charges for allegedly violating Floyd’s civil rights during the deadly arrest.
In the year since Floyd’s death, the intersection where he was killed 38th and Chicago has become an international memorial to Floyd and a gathering place for the community. The intersection, now known as George Floyd Square, remains closed to traffic.