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Death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, KY
Police officers executing a search warrant of Breonna Taylor shoot and kill Taylor just after midnight March 13. Police were investigating Taylor's ex-boyfriend, who Taylor had broken ties with shortly before her death. Police knocked on the door, to which Taylor and boyfriend Kenneth Walker questioned verbally with no answer before police broke the door down. Walker fired a warning shot, not knowing it was the police, with gunfire returned by officers, including five shots that struck Taylor. -
Death of George Floyd
Minneapolis police officers, responding to a claim by a Cup Foods store clerk that Floyd had paid for items with a counterfeit $20 bill, apprehend Floyd outside the store. After attempting to restrain Floyd and getting him into the squad car, officer Derek Chauvin pulled Floyd from the car and fatally knelt on his neck for eight minutes, 46 seconds. Video of the incident went viral on social media the following day, setting off a wave of civil unrest and calls for racial justice & police reform. -
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Protest, riots occur in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area
Demonstrators gather peacefully en masse throughout the day, declaring messages such as "Black lives matter" and "No justice no peace". At night, however, as demonstrators exit, riots erupt, resulting in buildings being burnt, such as businesses on Lake Street and the third precinct Minneapolis police station. Curfews are put in place and Gov. Tim Walz fully mobilizes the MN National Guard for the first time since World War II, which causes tensions to cool. -
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Protests take place worldwide following Floyd's death
Protests in over 60 countries, spanning every continent except Antarctica, take place in the wake of George Floyd's death, including in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; London, England; Sydney, Australia in solidarity with indigenous peoples; Pretoria, South Africa; Seoul, South Korea. -
Involved officers in Floyd's death charged, booked
MN Attorney General Keith Ellison announces that Derek Chauvin, who fatally knelt on George Floyd's neck, will face possible second-degree murder charges, in addition to the initial third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence charges. Chauvin's fellow officers, who were on-scene with him, are also each charged with aiding & abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony, and with aiding & abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence. -
Minneapolis City Council moves to ban chokeholds, require intervention by officers during unauthorized use of force
The council outlines that any officer who has witnessed unauthorized use of force is required to report what happened and to intervene in any case and holds officers accountable if they do not step in. The ban on chokeholds comes in direct response to its use that resulted in Floyd's death. Gov. Tim Walz credits protesters with spurring the change. -
Minneapolis City Council votes in favor of dismantling the city's police department
With nine votes in favor of the move, the Minneapolis City Council pledges to put forth a new system for public safety in the city. The move is opposed by Mayor Jacob Frey but is favored by protesters. Council members specify that there is not an exact plan for the city's new public safety system, but that development on a plan would take place with input from various experts and policy from around the U.S. and the world. -
Minneapolis City Council gives unanimous support to proposal for replacing the city's police department
The proposal would disband the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention. It would also give the option for the city to create a division with licensed peace officers but such a division would not be required. The proposal is opposed by Mayor Jacob Frey who supports reforming the police department instead of replacing it. -
Minnesota Police Accountability Act signed into law.
The act was signed into law by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on July 23, 2020. The act banned ‘warrior training’ for police officers and the use of chokeholds, with a requirement for officers' duty to be to mediate, rather than escalate, situations. The act also called for mental health and autism training, a new citizen-based advisory council, and reforms to the use of force and the Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board. -
Minneapolis Charter Commission votes to extend time to review amendment proposed by city council
The commission votes 10-5 to block the amendment to Minneapolis's city charter and take more time to review the city council-approved amendment proposal. The council voted in unanimous favor of a proposal to replace the city's police department. -
Shooting of Jacob Blake
Kenosha, WI, police officers shoot Blake seven times in the back as he attempted to get into his car. When officers arrived, Blake had allegedly been attempting to break up a heated spat between two women. Officers arrived at the scene to fulfill an arrest warrant for Blake. Officers claim that Blake had been resisting arrest and fighting with officers, even putting an officer into a headlock and claiming he had a knife. Blake survives but is rendered partially-paralyzed. -
Two people killed, one injured during Jacob Blake protests in Kenosha, WI.
Kyle Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois is identified as having killed protesters Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber, and having injured protester Gaige Grosskreutz. Rittenhouse was taken into custody August 26 and charged the following day. Rittenhouse shot the three protesters with a semi-automatic rifle and proclaimed he had killed somebody shortly after shooting the three men. Rittenhouse is charged with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide. -
Officer indicted in Taylor's death
Louisville PD officer Brett Hankinson was indicted by a state grand jury on three counts of wanton endangerment for endangering Taylor's neighbors with his three gunshots. Officers Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove were not charged in connection with the raid, despite Cosgrove firing the shot that killed Taylor. -
Third-degree murder against Chauvin dropped
Although the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin was dropped, Chauvin faces a second-degree murder charge and a manslaughter charge. His fellow officers are OK'ed to stand trial on initial charges of aiding & abetting that had been announced in June. -
Rittenhouse ordered to stand trial in Kenosha protest killings.
Rittenhouse shot and killed two protesters in Kenosha, WI, during a protest that occurred in the wake of Jacob Blake being shot in the city. Rittenhouse was charged with felony homicide, possession of a dangerous weapon underage, and felony attempted homicide for injuring another man in the incident.
