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Amy Klobuchar previously declined to prosecute Derek Chauvin

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  the-peoples-fish-still-hand-of-the-queen  •  4 years ago  •  19 comments

By:   Joshua Rhett Miller (New York Post)

Amy Klobuchar previously declined to prosecute Derek Chauvin
Potential vice presidential pick Amy Klobuchar failed to prosecute Derek Chauvin, the police officer involved in George Floyd's death.

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



Former Democratic presidential candidate and potential vice presidential pick Amy Klobuchar failed to prosecute the police officer involved in George Floyd's death while serving as a county attorney in 2006, prompting criticism of her law enforcement background.

Derek Chauvin, the officer seen on video with a knee on Floyd's neck Monday as Floyd begged for air, was one of six officers who fatally shot 42-year-old Wayne Reyes in 2006 after the man brandished a shotgun at the cops, according to a report by Minneapolis watchdog group Communities United Against Police Brutality.

The shooting occurred during Klobuchar's tenure as Hennepin County attorney, but the case didn't go before a grand jury until after she left office and later became a Minnesota senator, the Star Tribune reports.

Amy Klobuchar (right) in 2006 declined to prosecute Derek Chauvin, who is now at the center of the death of George Floyd.Facebook; Getty Images

In 2008, a grand jury ultimately decided not to charge the officers with any wrongdoing in the shooting, the Guardian reports.

Klobuchar, who has been floated as a possible VP pick for presumed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, also did not criminally charge other cops involved in more than two dozen officer-involved fatalities that took place during her time as prosecutor from 1999 to 2006, according to the Star Tribune.

Those decisions were left to a grand jury, a common practice at the time, according to the newspaper.

In a statement released Friday, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said Klobuchar had "no involvement" whatsoever in the decision not to charge Chauvin in the shooting.

"Sen. Klobuchar's last day in the office here was December 31 2006, and she had no involvement in the prosecution of this case at all," the statement obtained by the New York Times read.

But the national outrage connected to Floyd's death is now putting added pressure on Biden to pick a running mate who's more aligned with "key audiences," Aimee Allison, president of political group She The People, told the Star Tribune.

"We need to close the enthusiasm gap that Biden currently faces," Allison said. "We need to have a VP pick that expands the capacity of the campaign to reach key audiences. Black women are key. Brown women are key. And Klobuchar does not do that."

In March, Klobuchar admitted to the Washington Post that she didn't have a "perfect record" as Hennepin County's chief prosecutor, saying she wished she had taken more "individual responsibility" in the cases.

"But I promise you, every single day in that job, I tried to put myself in other people's shoes to try to do the right thing," she said.

A message seeking Chauvin's complete service record from Minneapolis police was not immediately returned Friday.

Klobuchar, meanwhile, said in a statement released Tuesday that Floyd's "horrifying and gutwrenching" death called for immediate action.

"There must be a complete and thorough outside investigation into what occurred, and those involved in this incident must be held accountable," Klobuchar's statement read.

Filed underAmy Klobuchar, George Floyd, joe biden, minneapolis, prosecutors, 5/29/20


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Split Personality
Professor Guide
2  Split Personality    4 years ago
To be fair to Klobuchar, the Reyes shooting happened in October 2006, as her time as state prosecutor was coming to an end and she was campaigning for the senate.

Mint News Press

Whether or not Wayne Reyes was or was not an Native American is irrelevant. he stabbed his girl friend and possibly one other friend

before fleeing when officers responded to the 911 call for domestic violence.

In October 2006, six police officers shot at Wayne Reyes along Hiawatha Avenue in South Minneapolis. All together, they fired 42 rounds in a matter of seconds. Sixteen shots hit Reyes and two were fatal. All of it was recorded on the dash cameras of two of the three squads involved.

Eventually, the Minneapolis Police Department plans to use this rare video to train new officers.

"It's not just a war story. It's something we can sit them down in the academy and play this tape and go 'This is what happened to someone shortly out of the academy. This is the situation you can be faced with,'" said Minneapolis Police Sgt. Bill Palmer.

The video starts just before midnight Oct. 27, 2006. In one squad, a rookie officer was driving and a veteran officer was in the passenger seat. They responded to a domestic call of Reyes stabbing his girlfriend in the leg. The dispatcher told them he may be armed with a shotgun.

"In the interest of making sure we go home at the end of our shift, you're going to treat them like that gun is present until you know that gun is not," said Palmer.

When the officers arrive at the scene, other officers tell them that Reyes ran out the back door. Two squads chased him down Hiawatha Avenue where he stopped moments later.

Eighteen seconds after the squads pulled up, Reyes opened the door to his truck. The video shows he had been fiddling with something in the front seat of the vehicle.

When Reyes opened the door, he swung out something in the shape of a thin tube. Officers at the scene identified it as a gun. An investigation later found it was an unloaded shotgun. 

More confusion...

In 2006, Chauvin was involved in another officer-involved shooting where an armed domestic violence suspect named Wayne Reyes was pursued in his truck. According to the police report, Wayne got out of his vehicle at one point with a shotgun, and “several officers fired multiple shots,” killing Reyes.

It’s not clear which officers fired their weapons, according to the initial investigation, and it’s unclear whether Reyes made any physical or verbal threats. However, all the cops involved, including Chauvin, were placed on paid leave during the investigation, but once again, there’s little info on the findings of the investigation.

Again, no mention of Reyes as black or AI...

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
2.1  Split Personality  replied to  Split Personality @2    4 years ago
Wayne Reyes

October 29, 2006

Minneapolis Police responded after Wayne stabbed his girlfriend and a male friend. He drove off, starting a police pursuit. When police stopped him, they claim he aimed a shotgun toward them. Six Minneapolis police officers -- Dante Dean, Brian Grahme, Shawn Kelly, Oscar Macias, Terry Nutter and Derek Chauvin -- fired on him .

He (Wayne) was 42 years old.

Stolen Lives in Minnesota: People Who Have Lost their Lives Through Encounters with Law Enforcement Authorities Compiled by Communities United Against Police Brutality 4200 Cedar Avenue South Minneapolis, Minnesota 55407 612 - 874 - 7867 www.cuapb.org

Again, where is Wayne Reyes identified as a Native American?

 
 
 
1stwarrior
Professor Participates
2.1.1  1stwarrior  replied to  Split Personality @2.1    4 years ago

In 2006, Chauvin and five others responded to a stabbing. After Wayne Reyes allegedly pulled a shotgun on the officers, one of the officers shot and killed Reyes, according to a report by a police watchdog nonprofit based in Minneapolis, according to the Star Tribune.

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe confirmed for KBJR 6 on Thursday Reyez was an enrolled band member.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
2.1.2  Split Personality  replied to  1stwarrior @2.1.1    4 years ago

Thank You 1W

 
 
 
Thomas
Senior Guide
3  Thomas    4 years ago

From the story:

"Sen. Klobuchar's last day in the office here was December 31 2006, and she had no involvement in the prosecution of this case at all," the statement obtained by the New York Times read.

And;

Those decisions were left to a grand jury, a common practice at the time, according to the (Star Tribune).

That would seem to say it all.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
4  Kavika     4 years ago

It was common practice that cases were brought before a grand jury to get an indictment or not during her tenure as DA. If I remember correctly she was DA from 1999 to 2007. A lot of things that we use today, body cams etc were not used at that time. So she wasn't much different than most DA's in that time period. 

In Minnesota and in this case, Minneapolis's racism against American Indians has been prevalent for decades. It's the reason that the American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded in Minneapolis in the basement of a storefront church in 1968. What we see in the murder of George Floyd is what we have seen of the killing of American Indians and now blacks in Minneapolis for decades. 

Perrie mentioned that we are a smaller voting block and no one seems to care about what happens to us and that we serve in the Military at a higher rate per % of the population of any other group. This is true, what is also true is that we die at the hands of the police at a higher rate than any other group. Let that sink in for a minute. Yet, on average, there is less than one story carrier by the media over these killings. There is a reason that we are referred to as the ''Invisible Americans''....

In research funded by the Center for Indian Country Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and St. Catherine University entitled, “Police Stops and Searches of Indigenous People in Minneapolis: The Roles of Race, Place, and Gender,” the authors write:

“In the United States, Native Americans have the highest prevalence of fatal encounters with law enforcement of any racial or ethnic group. Yet these encounters are rarely covered in the media – for each fatal police shooting of a Native American there is an average of fewer than one media story.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Indians, on a per capita basis, are more likely to die at the hands of law enforcement than any other racial or ethnic group in the United States.

That pretty much says it all. 

The NA's in Minneapolis, in general, support the new Chief of Police who replaced the last one that was discharged after the police killing of a lady from Australia. 

He has established a line of communications with the native population of Minneapolis. Although he is making headway and is being accepted by the native community they do not feel that way about other parts of the police force and especially the president of the police union. 

We are outraged at the murder of George Floyd and support non-violent protests, we DO NOT support the violence and looting that is taking place now. AIM is guarding the native neighborhoods and native businesses against anyone that would do us harm. 

 

 
 
 
Thomas
Senior Guide
4.1  Thomas  replied to  Kavika @4    4 years ago

Sorry, Kavika. I did not mean to belittle anyone with my comment, with the possible exception of BF.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
4.1.1  Kavika   replied to  Thomas @4.1    4 years ago

No worries Thomas.

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
5  Tacos!    4 years ago
six officers who fatally shot 42-year-old Wayne Reyes in 2006 after the man brandished a shotgun at the cops

How are you going to punish cops who shoot a guy threatening them with a gun?

 
 
 
Sister Mary Agnes Ample Bottom
Professor Guide
6  Sister Mary Agnes Ample Bottom    4 years ago

Does anyone know the status of the stabbing victims?  Did they die?

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
6.1  Kavika   replied to  Sister Mary Agnes Ample Bottom @6    4 years ago

They did not die. His girlfriend had a stab wound in the leg. The other person recovered and I don't know where or how damaging the wound was.

 
 

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