Minnesota AG Keith Ellison to prosecute George Floyd case; Police Chief Medaria Arradondo calls death a 'violation of humanity'

MINNEAPOLIS — The prosecution of Derek Chauvin, the fired Minneapolis police officer who held his knee to George Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, resulting in his death, will be led by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. 

"We are going to bring to bear all the resources necessary to achieve justice in this case," Ellison said in a news conference.

The decision to put Ellison in charge of the case, announced Sunday night by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, came on the same day Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo called what happened to Floyd a "violation of humanity."

Speaking to CNN at the site where Floyd died, Arradondo apologized to the man's family. He also said what he saw in video of Floyd's death was wrong, and led him to quickly fire the four officers involved in the incident, which has sparked outrage nationwide. 

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“There are absolute truths in life," Arradondo said. "We need air to breathe. The killing of Mr. Floyd was an absolute truth that it was wrong. I did not need days or weeks or months or processes or bureaucracies to tell me what occurred out here last Monday. It was wrong.” 

Arradondo's apology and Walz's decision to put Ellison in charge of the case came on a day of relative calm in Minneapolis. Volunteer crews cleaned up broken glass and rubble left behind after days of widespread looting and protesting. City public works crews helped managed the clean-up process, which was powered primarily by volunteers.

Still, some think more damage is to come. Just one of the four officers involved in the incident that ended with Floyd's death have so far been charged. Minneapolis residents want charges for the other three.

Sunday's protests started out peaceful. A large crowd held a quiet rally at the Minnesota State Capitol in the afternoon, monitored by hundreds of state patrol and National Guard, who blocked access to the front steps with armored vehicles.

But peaceful protests were marred by people not involved with the events. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety confirmed a semi-truck driver was hospitalized and arrested after video surfaced showing a truck driving into a crowd of peaceful demonstrators on Interstate 35, which had been closed to traffic. 

The Department of Public Safety called the driver's actions "very disturbing" and added the driver was "inciting a crowd of peaceful demonstrators." Videos from the scene showed an 18-wheeler driving toward a large crowd of fleeing protesters before coming to a stop.

The demonstrators converged on the truck after it stopped and the driver was taken out of the cab of the truck by protesters, DPS Commissioner John Harrington told reporters at a news conference. 

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"The truck driver was injured & taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries," the Department of Public Safety tweeted. "He is under arrest. It doesn’t appear any protesters were hit by the truck."

Officials announced the driver was in police custody and was released from the hospital Sunday evening. 

Walz added: "The incident underscores the volatile situation we have out there."

Thomas Winston, a psychology student at the University of Minnesota, was one of dozens of demonstrators sprayed by a chemical irritant Sunday evening when Minneapolis police officers separated a crowd gathered on the interstate.

Winston said after the truck barreled into protesters, police sought to chase half the crowd west and the others east. Winston headed west and was seated on his lawn an hour later as the city’s 8 p.m. curfew arrived. His face bore the residue of milk of magnesia, which a bystander poured on Winston to ease the sting of the chemical.

By Sunday evening, law enforcement had cleared protesters from the interstate and blocked their return with armored vehicles and hundreds of officers. The National Guard was also patrolling the streets of downtown Minneapolis in pairs. 

The Minnesota National Guard took to Twitter to let people know what to expect: UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters were being deployed to help with fire suppression. The Guard also said it would “never” drive a tank into the city, though residents should expect armored and tactical vehicles. 

The 200 or so people gathered at Cups Foods three hours after Minneapolis’ curfew took the appearance of vigil-goers more than protesters.

Large flower memorials have been laid in Floyd’s honor and several new pieces of art bearing his face were seen on the concrete at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South. 

A prayer was planned for midnight and then most in the group will go home, Tony Clark, 28, told USA TODAY.

Clark told the crowd that peaceful protests get attention during the day, but news media only focuses on nighttime arson looting. 

“We’ve been out here and we’re gonna be out here,” he said. “They hate to see us out here unified, black, white, Latino, African, Somali, Arab. We out here together. 

“We’re gonna be peaceful, but we’re not gonna be dumb.”