There needs to be a systematic review of the Minneapolis police’s track record of using neck restraints that render people unconscious, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told “MSNBC Live” on Monday.
“I believe that there needs to be systematic review, pattern practice review … [and] I hope that we can get that as part of the overall drive for meaningful reform. … That’s one policy among many others that I think needs to be reviewed so that we can have a just, fair, humane public safety in the city of Minneapolis.”
A report has revealed that police officers in Minneapolis have used neck restraints on people hundreds of times since 2015 and 44 people have been rendered unconscious with the tactic.
When asked if he is comfortable with third degree murder being the correct charge against policeman Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, Ellison said that “we are reviewing the law and we are going to charge this case in a manner consistent with the highest level of accountability that the facts and the law will support.”
However, he said that he could not make a judgement now, and “It is essential that this prosecution is viewed as just and fair. I don’t want to have to defend this prosecution from false accusations of rush to judgment or pressure by the public.”
He emphasized that “I know that people are frustrated by the pacing, but I want to ensure them that as a person who has dedicated my whole life to civil rights and justice, I am going to pursue justice vigorously, relentlessly, uncompromisingly."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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