Leroy N. Soetoro
2020-05-29 23:24:59 UTC
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/us/politics/klobuchar-minneapolis-
george-floyd.html
Amy Klobuchar, now being considered as a potential vice-presidential
candidate, oversaw several cases involving police shootings in Minneapolis
during her years as a prosecutor.
Senator Amy Klobuchar swept into office in 2007 as a former tough
prosecutor, boasting of how she had reduced crime in the biggest county in
Minnesota. But as protests over George Floyds death in police custody
bring chaos and violence to Minneapolis, her seven-year record as
prosecutor there is facing renewed scrutiny as she prepares to be vetted
as a leading vice-presidential contender.
With a police force in Minneapolis that has long faced accusations of
racism and complaints of abuse, Ms. Klobuchar declined to bring charges
against multiple police officers who were involved in shootings during her
seven-year tenure. Instead she often opted to send cases to a grand jury,
a common practice at the time but one that some law enforcement experts
say favors police officers.
In October 2006, Derrick Chauvin, the same officer who knelt on Mr.
Floyds neck for more than seven minutes as he complained he could not
breathe, was one of six officers involved in the shooting of a man who had
stabbed multiple people before turning on the police. Ms. Klobuchar, weeks
away from being elected to the Senate, was still the prosecutor, but the
case wasnt heard until after she took the oath of office in Washington.
Senator Klobuchars last day in the office here was December 31, 2006,
and she had no involvement in the prosecution of this case at all, said
Lacey Severins, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County prosecutors office,
which encompasses Minneapolis.
Although she had no role in reviewing Mr. Chauvins case in 2006, Ms.
Klobuchars name was trending online Thursday, with many quick to tie that
decision to her long record as a prosecutor that critics viewed as overly
friendly to police officers. The searing emotions surrounding Mr. Floyds
death have reopened old wounds in her relationship with some national and
local community activists in Minneapolis.
Democrats acknowledge that the situation in Minneapolis is a highly fluid
and unsettled one, and the political implications of the violence and
civil unrest there cannot be foreseen with any clarity. It is too soon to
say with certainty that the events of this week will weigh heavily on
Joseph R. Biden Jr.s choice of running mate or affect Ms. Klobuchars
chances of becoming his vice-presidential nominee.
But with Floyd killing rekindling the painful national conversation about
race, her tenure as prosecutor could become a significant liability for
Ms. Klobuchar in the vice-presidential selection process. During her own
presidential campaign, Ms. Klobuchar faced continued protests, as well as
some calls to drop out of the race from local black leaders in
Minneapolis, after news reports found numerous faults in the prosecution
of a black teenager named Myon Burrell while Ms. Klobuchar was the
prosecutor. Two days before Super Tuesday in March, a rally in her home
state was shut down by protesters demanding she do more to help free Mr.
Burrell.
Ms. Klobuchar said while on the campaign trail that the case should be
reviewed, but local civil rights leaders in Minneapolis wanted the
senator to use the full power of her office to demand a new investigation.
This week, Ms. Klobuchar issued a statement after Mr. Floyds killing,
calling for an outside investigation and saying that those involved in
this incident must be held accountable. She was met with near immediate
criticism from local and national activists for not mentioning Mr. Floyds
name or saying that he had been killed by the police.
Behind the scenes, Ms. Klobuchar has been reaching out to local and
national leaders in the black community since Mr. Floyds killing. She
called the Rev. Al Sharpton; Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP;
and Leslie Redmond, the president of the Minneapolis NAACP. She joined
other Minnesota elected officials to send a letter to the local United
States attorney and district attorney urging a full investigation into Mr.
Floyds death.
But still, some Democrats thought that Ms. Klobuchar, now one of the
partys leading national voices, should have been more publicly vocal in
the wake of Mr. Floyds death.
I think that clearly how she behaves and conducts herself in her home
state with the situation with the killing is going to be something
everyone is going to watch, Mr. Sharpton said in an interview. Id like
to see her do more, Id like to see her be more aggressive in calling for
intervention here. When you have the mayor saying the people ought to be
charged, it raises the bar on other elected officials who have not said
that.
This morning, Ms. Klobuchar said on Twitter that the city was hurting for
justice & charges for George Floyd.
In the months since she dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed
Mr. Biden, Ms. Klobuchar has taken steps to rectify some of her record.
On the Wednesday after Mr. Biden dominated Super Tuesday states, Ms.
Klobuchar sent a letter from her Senate office to the district attorneys
office in Hennepin County, asking them to launch an independent review of
Mr. Burrells case. She also met with Mr. Burrells family and local
activists.
Ms. Klobuchars strengths remain compelling to some in the Biden campaign,
who view her as an appealing choice for suburban voters, especially women,
who are crucial to Mr. Bidens electoral map. She also appeals to older
voters who have shifted markedly away from President Trump and toward Mr.
Biden in recent months, according to public and private polling.
Mr. Biden himself regards her as a vital ally, an ideological fellow
traveler and someone to whom he owes a debt of gratitude for her forceful
endorsement before Super Tuesday. There is little doubt among allies that
Mr. Biden sees Ms. Klobuchar as qualified for the vice presidency.
Shes our best bet to get disaffected white, blue-collar Democrats who
voted for Trump in 2016 back into the Democratic column, said former
Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, who also stressed that any of the
other women under consideration would also bring benefits to the ticket.
Shed be the biggest help to Joe.
But Biden allies and senior Democrats are fully aware of the opposition to
Ms. Klobuchar that has built on the left, largely for reasons unrelated to
her record as a prosecutor. She is also viewed skeptically by some black
leaders who are hoping Mr. Biden will choose an African-American running
mate. She attracted virtually no support from black voters in the
Democratic presidential primaries.
Several women viewed as serious candidates for the vice presidency have
extensive backgrounds in law enforcement, including Ms. Klobuchar; Senator
Kamala Harris of California, who was a district attorney and state
attorney general; and Representative Val Demings of Florida, who was the
police chief in Orlando, Fla. Of those women, only Ms. Klobuchar is white.
Ms. Redmond, of the Minneapolis NAACP, had been one of the leading voices
calling on Ms. Klobuchar to drop out of the Democratic primary because of
her handling of Mr. Burrells case. She said the fact that Ms. Klobuchar
reached out personally was a welcome surprise, but added that she and Ms.
Klobuchar have unfinished business.
One of the reasons why I fight so hard is because Ive had to fight so
many times on the front lines for lots of people that we couldnt bring
back, and here we are, yet again, another black man has been murdered,
Ms. Redmond said. And we cant bring back George Floyd. And that sickens
me because he should be alive today.
But we have to have an opportunity to right wrongs. So I commend Senator
Klobuchar for reaching out so far, and I look forward to her helping us
freeing Myon Burrell A.S.A.P, and we need to put our full force and energy
into that.
Alexander Burns contributed reporting.
--
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
truck.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump has boosted the economy, reduced illegal immigration,
appointed dozens of judges and created jobs.
Senile loser and NAMBLA supporter Nancy Pelosi got "Trumped" on February
5, 2020. "President Trump, Not Guilty."
george-floyd.html
Amy Klobuchar, now being considered as a potential vice-presidential
candidate, oversaw several cases involving police shootings in Minneapolis
during her years as a prosecutor.
Senator Amy Klobuchar swept into office in 2007 as a former tough
prosecutor, boasting of how she had reduced crime in the biggest county in
Minnesota. But as protests over George Floyds death in police custody
bring chaos and violence to Minneapolis, her seven-year record as
prosecutor there is facing renewed scrutiny as she prepares to be vetted
as a leading vice-presidential contender.
With a police force in Minneapolis that has long faced accusations of
racism and complaints of abuse, Ms. Klobuchar declined to bring charges
against multiple police officers who were involved in shootings during her
seven-year tenure. Instead she often opted to send cases to a grand jury,
a common practice at the time but one that some law enforcement experts
say favors police officers.
In October 2006, Derrick Chauvin, the same officer who knelt on Mr.
Floyds neck for more than seven minutes as he complained he could not
breathe, was one of six officers involved in the shooting of a man who had
stabbed multiple people before turning on the police. Ms. Klobuchar, weeks
away from being elected to the Senate, was still the prosecutor, but the
case wasnt heard until after she took the oath of office in Washington.
Senator Klobuchars last day in the office here was December 31, 2006,
and she had no involvement in the prosecution of this case at all, said
Lacey Severins, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County prosecutors office,
which encompasses Minneapolis.
Although she had no role in reviewing Mr. Chauvins case in 2006, Ms.
Klobuchars name was trending online Thursday, with many quick to tie that
decision to her long record as a prosecutor that critics viewed as overly
friendly to police officers. The searing emotions surrounding Mr. Floyds
death have reopened old wounds in her relationship with some national and
local community activists in Minneapolis.
Democrats acknowledge that the situation in Minneapolis is a highly fluid
and unsettled one, and the political implications of the violence and
civil unrest there cannot be foreseen with any clarity. It is too soon to
say with certainty that the events of this week will weigh heavily on
Joseph R. Biden Jr.s choice of running mate or affect Ms. Klobuchars
chances of becoming his vice-presidential nominee.
But with Floyd killing rekindling the painful national conversation about
race, her tenure as prosecutor could become a significant liability for
Ms. Klobuchar in the vice-presidential selection process. During her own
presidential campaign, Ms. Klobuchar faced continued protests, as well as
some calls to drop out of the race from local black leaders in
Minneapolis, after news reports found numerous faults in the prosecution
of a black teenager named Myon Burrell while Ms. Klobuchar was the
prosecutor. Two days before Super Tuesday in March, a rally in her home
state was shut down by protesters demanding she do more to help free Mr.
Burrell.
Ms. Klobuchar said while on the campaign trail that the case should be
reviewed, but local civil rights leaders in Minneapolis wanted the
senator to use the full power of her office to demand a new investigation.
This week, Ms. Klobuchar issued a statement after Mr. Floyds killing,
calling for an outside investigation and saying that those involved in
this incident must be held accountable. She was met with near immediate
criticism from local and national activists for not mentioning Mr. Floyds
name or saying that he had been killed by the police.
Behind the scenes, Ms. Klobuchar has been reaching out to local and
national leaders in the black community since Mr. Floyds killing. She
called the Rev. Al Sharpton; Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP;
and Leslie Redmond, the president of the Minneapolis NAACP. She joined
other Minnesota elected officials to send a letter to the local United
States attorney and district attorney urging a full investigation into Mr.
Floyds death.
But still, some Democrats thought that Ms. Klobuchar, now one of the
partys leading national voices, should have been more publicly vocal in
the wake of Mr. Floyds death.
I think that clearly how she behaves and conducts herself in her home
state with the situation with the killing is going to be something
everyone is going to watch, Mr. Sharpton said in an interview. Id like
to see her do more, Id like to see her be more aggressive in calling for
intervention here. When you have the mayor saying the people ought to be
charged, it raises the bar on other elected officials who have not said
that.
This morning, Ms. Klobuchar said on Twitter that the city was hurting for
justice & charges for George Floyd.
In the months since she dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed
Mr. Biden, Ms. Klobuchar has taken steps to rectify some of her record.
On the Wednesday after Mr. Biden dominated Super Tuesday states, Ms.
Klobuchar sent a letter from her Senate office to the district attorneys
office in Hennepin County, asking them to launch an independent review of
Mr. Burrells case. She also met with Mr. Burrells family and local
activists.
Ms. Klobuchars strengths remain compelling to some in the Biden campaign,
who view her as an appealing choice for suburban voters, especially women,
who are crucial to Mr. Bidens electoral map. She also appeals to older
voters who have shifted markedly away from President Trump and toward Mr.
Biden in recent months, according to public and private polling.
Mr. Biden himself regards her as a vital ally, an ideological fellow
traveler and someone to whom he owes a debt of gratitude for her forceful
endorsement before Super Tuesday. There is little doubt among allies that
Mr. Biden sees Ms. Klobuchar as qualified for the vice presidency.
Shes our best bet to get disaffected white, blue-collar Democrats who
voted for Trump in 2016 back into the Democratic column, said former
Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, who also stressed that any of the
other women under consideration would also bring benefits to the ticket.
Shed be the biggest help to Joe.
But Biden allies and senior Democrats are fully aware of the opposition to
Ms. Klobuchar that has built on the left, largely for reasons unrelated to
her record as a prosecutor. She is also viewed skeptically by some black
leaders who are hoping Mr. Biden will choose an African-American running
mate. She attracted virtually no support from black voters in the
Democratic presidential primaries.
Several women viewed as serious candidates for the vice presidency have
extensive backgrounds in law enforcement, including Ms. Klobuchar; Senator
Kamala Harris of California, who was a district attorney and state
attorney general; and Representative Val Demings of Florida, who was the
police chief in Orlando, Fla. Of those women, only Ms. Klobuchar is white.
Ms. Redmond, of the Minneapolis NAACP, had been one of the leading voices
calling on Ms. Klobuchar to drop out of the Democratic primary because of
her handling of Mr. Burrells case. She said the fact that Ms. Klobuchar
reached out personally was a welcome surprise, but added that she and Ms.
Klobuchar have unfinished business.
One of the reasons why I fight so hard is because Ive had to fight so
many times on the front lines for lots of people that we couldnt bring
back, and here we are, yet again, another black man has been murdered,
Ms. Redmond said. And we cant bring back George Floyd. And that sickens
me because he should be alive today.
But we have to have an opportunity to right wrongs. So I commend Senator
Klobuchar for reaching out so far, and I look forward to her helping us
freeing Myon Burrell A.S.A.P, and we need to put our full force and energy
into that.
Alexander Burns contributed reporting.
--
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Donald J. Trump, 304 electoral votes to 227, defeated compulsive liar in
denial Hillary Rodham Clinton on December 19th, 2016. The clown car
parade of the democrat party ran out of gas and got run over by a Trump
truck.
Congratulations President Trump. Thank you for cleaning up the disaster
of the Obama presidency.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump has boosted the economy, reduced illegal immigration,
appointed dozens of judges and created jobs.
Senile loser and NAMBLA supporter Nancy Pelosi got "Trumped" on February
5, 2020. "President Trump, Not Guilty."