George Floyd’s coffin put on view for public as Democrats introduce federal police reform legislation
Pressure grows on on Monday for lawmakers to force change
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Members of the public were allowed to view George Floyd's coffin in his hometown of Houston, Texas, on Monday as global protests sparked by his death continued over the weekend. His body was on display for six hours to allow for the public viewing.
On Tuesday, a private memorial would be held in funeral with a 500-person limit. The reasoning behind the limit was to help everyone attending maintain social distancing guidelines during the service.
In response to Black Lives Matter protests across the nation, Congressional Democrats unveiled new legislation that would directly tackle police reform across the United States. But Republicans have urged caution about passing anything on the federal level addressing police reform and brutality.
On the state and local level, Minneapolis lawmakers pledged to dismantle its police department, promising to create, instead, a new system of public safety, while New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said he would cut the city's $6bn police budget and spend more on social services. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also vowed to cut $100m to $150m of his city's police budget, just a few days after he planned to increase that same budget by 7 per cent.
All of this comes as Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, made a virtual appearance in court on Monday.
The judge accepted prosecutors' $1.25m unconditioned bail, which changes to $1m with conditions. These conditions include Chauvin remaining a law-abiding citizen, attending all court appearances, refraining from taking any law enforcement and security jobs, and handing over all firearms.
Whether Chauvin would be able to post bail remains to be seen.
President Donald Trump has continued his rhetoric of "law and order" amid the protests across the country. He's accused the Democrats of pushing "defund the police" rhetoric, but prominent Democrats like former Vice President Joe Biden said they did not support the movement. Instead, Mr Biden advocated for funding community policing policies and other vital programmes.
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Man drives into crowd of protesters in Seattle then shoots demonstrator
A man drove his car into a crowd of protesters in Seattle on Sunday, then shot and wounded a demonstrator who confronted him as he came to a stop, according to police and eyewitness video.
Seattle police said firefighters took the man who was shot to the hospital and that he was in stable condition. No one else was injured, the police said.
The suspect was seen in the video exiting his car as protesters began to surround it. He brandished what appeared to be a gun, dashed through the crowd and turned himself over to police.
The incident was in contrast to the mostly peaceful weekend protests sparked by the death of George Floyd last month while in Minneapolis police custody.
Reuters
Biden to meet with family of George Floyd
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will travel to Houston on Monday to meet privately with the family of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis last month while he was being detained by police.
Mr Biden will meet with the family of Mr Floyd in private so as not to disturb the funeral ceremony with extra security.
“Vice President Biden will travel to Houston Monday to express his condolences in-person to the Floyd family. He is also recording a video message for the funeral service,” a spokesman for the former vice president told CBS News on Sunday.
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Labour's shadow chancellor Anneliese Dodds has said the tearing down of Bristol's Edward Colston statue was "not acceptable", but that focus needs to remain on systemic discrimination in the UK.
US sees spike in white people sending money to their black friends
Parker Gillian laughed the first time a white co-worker sent her money unprompted. It was all she could do.
Since protests erupted last week over the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Ms Gillian had been hearing from white acquaintances who wanted to check in on her wellbeing. There was a straightforward logic to it: she is a young black woman in Chicago and there is a civil rights movement playing out nationwide, on streets and on screens, with black people at its centre.
But some of the people who reached out were not especially close to her. And even those who were actually friends seemed to subtly ask for her guidance about how they, Good White Allies, should handle the moment. The wave of good intentions started to feel like a riptide.
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This photo taken on Sunday after demonstrators in Bristol tore down the statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston may just become iconic.
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↵Minneapolis mayor booed out of protest for refusing to commit to abolishing police department
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey faced a chorus of boos and chants of “shame” when he refused to commit to abolishing the city’s police department this weekend.
Saturday was the 12th day of protests over the killing of George Floyd while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police Department.
A peaceful march was led by the Black Visions Collective from Bottineau Park in the city with chants of “Black Lives Matter” and “Defund the police, give the money to the community”, CBS affiliate WCCO reports.
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Conservative MP Ben Bradley has appeared to defend 17th century slave trader Edward Colston.
"Almost as if they didn't know any better," he tweeted of historical figures following the tearing down of Colston's statue in Bristol.
In fact, there were many figures from that era against slavery, including fellow politician William Wilberforce.
Sean O'Grady: Statues are a mark of honour. Like Edward Colston, Cecil Rhodes and Oliver Cromwell have to go
Given everything, I’m quite surprised the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol survived for as long as it did. His reputation, after all, was trashed long before his memorial. He acquired his vast fortune, later used philanthropically, from the slave trade. He was thus responsible for the death of thousands of the African slaves - that is, his fellow human beings - that he so profitably shipped across the Atlantic. If a ship transport was too heavy or running out of food, women and children were thrown over the side. Now the iconoclasts of Bristol have tossed Colston into the drink.
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Labour leader Keir Starmer has said Bristol's Colston statue should have been removed long before now.
Former Bristol City footballer Liam Rosenior has spoken out about the toppling of the Edward Colston statue in the city.
"I attended COLSTONS (slave owner and killer) primary school in order to receive my 'education'," he tweeted.
"Pardon me for enjoying this moment of irony."
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