In a recent development, a group of 14 current and former officers from the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) have signed sworn declarations, alleging that Assistant Chief Katie Blackwell committed perjury during the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer involved in the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
Blackwell, during her testimony, had categorically stated that the method of restraint used by Chauvin was not part of the MPD officer training. "That's not what we train," she had declared.
However, as reported by The Post Millennial, these officers have countered her claim, stating that the "knee-on-neck restraint" technique used by Chauvin was indeed part of the MPD's training under the maximal-restraint technique (MRT), a method taught and permitted until 2023. The officers who signed the declarations "swore that this training was well knownindeed, common knowledgeand omnipresent," according to Alpha News.
Alpha News, in its report, revealed that these 14 sworn statements were part of several declarations submitted by lawyers representing the news outlet in a defamation lawsuit filed by Blackwell in October last year. The lawsuit was a response to Alpha News' documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis," which suggested that Blackwell had been untruthful in her testimony.
In a comprehensive motion requesting the dismissal of the case with prejudice, Chris Madel, attorney for Alpha News, wrote, "With this motion, 33 former MPD officers who served with Blackwell, and one who currently serves with her, have sworn that MPD trained this restraint as part of the maximal-restraint technique (MRT) and otherwise. Indeed, 14 of these officers have swornunder oaththeir belief that Blackwell perjured herself."
Madel further stated, "Blackwell remarkably claims that Collin and Chaix defamed her when they opined that it seemed like Blackwell lied. In reality, this opinion was far more generous than necessary. It is a fact."
The death of George Floyd, who died in police custody after being arrested in a parking lot in May 2020, sparked widespread outrage and protests. The incident was widely perceived as a racially motivated murder, and within two days of his death, riots broke out in Minneapolis and quickly spread across the country.
The riots occurred amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, which had led to widespread lockdowns, closures of businesses, schools, and churches. However, the lockdowns were lifted for protests, with dozens of doctors signing a letter claiming that racism was a bigger health threat than Covid and that those protesting were justified in their actions.
In Minneapolis, the riots escalated to such an extent that the MPD had to abandon a precinct building to the mob. Former MPD officer Ken Tidgwell, as noted by Alpha News, stated that he had been trained to use the technique Chauvin employed when subduing Floyd. A toxicology report later revealed that Floyd had Fentanyl and other drugs in his system.
Tidgwell said, "Specifically, we were trained that when two officers were trying to handcuff a person that was resisting arrest, one officer should use his or her knee to employ a knee-to-neck/upper shoulder restraint to control the subjects head, and the other knee should be used to control one of the subjects arms during handcuffing."
He further added, "If by we Katie Blackwell referred to the MPD, then I believe that she perjured herself. Every MPD officer knows that restraint was trained, and every MPD officer knows it was trained as part of the MRT process. We were trained that 'where the head goes, the body will follow.'"
Chauvin, who was widely believed to be guilty before his trial, has appealed his conviction, in which he was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. President Joe Biden had commented on the verdict, stating that he prayed that the verdict is the "right verdict, which is I think it's overwhelming in my view. I wouldn't say that unless the jury was sequestered now, not hearing me say that."
Despite opposition from the Biden administration's Department of Justice, Chauvin's appeal has been allowed to proceed. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson in December ordered that Chauvin's lawyers be granted access to Floyd's heart tissue and histology slides, photographs of his heart, and samples of Floyd's bodily fluids, as his legal team is investigating the possibility that Floyd died from a heart condition and not Chauvin's actions.
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