Why were you opposed to it? Derek Chauvin, the white officer seen on cellphone video pressing his knee into Floyd's neck while ignoring pleas that he couldn't breathe, has been charged with second-degree murder and other counts. I pause because we have individuals in the organization that are doing everything they can to dismantle any sorts of barriers that would lend themselves to be racism, sexism, you name it. Steve Belton, president and CEO of the Urban League of the Twin Cities, said Arradondo inherited a department with a history of misconduct "over many, many, many decades" and "it won't be fixed overnight, maybe not even in this particular moment or with this particular chief. flower shop killing, Stillwater officers shoot, kill suspect at apartment complex, 'We play whack-a-mole': Growing medical needs stress suburban fire departments, Two Harbors residents renew 20-year fight to block project on Lighthouse Point. I wasnt hearing anything that would positively change and keep our community safe. Most newly appointed police chiefs in recent years, particularly those of color, have been promoted or elevated to the top in response to high-profile police-involved shootings, excessive-force incidents or other crises that have further frayed trust between police and communities of color. Fletcher said he wants to examine whether the police department should be disbanded, saying he believes it's "so broken it can't be fixed.". Medaria Arradondo (Police Chief) Bio-Wiki, Age, Wife - FactsBio Around midday, Arradondo huddled in his office with members of his senior command staff: then-Assistant Chief Mike Kjos, and Deputy Chiefs Kathy Waite, Henry Halvorson and Erick Fors; Art Knight, Arradondo's former chief of staff, was out of town, and joined the meeting by phone. "I don't want to surround myself with 'yes people' and I did tell them this is, and it was a weighty, weighty decision. And that pretty much sums up the major camps of views on Arradondo, 54, a South Minneapolis native, 32-year police veteran and divorced father of two who announced last month that he would not seek a third term as chief. By What does that mean? Arradondo, the city's first Black chief, fired Derek Chauvin and three other officers the day after Floyd . Sadly and tragically, the numbers havent changed over the years: Eight out of 10 of the victims of violent crimes in Minneapolis look like me. Peter St. Onge: Thwarting the push to make inflation permanent Eric Nelson, Chauvin's attorney, argued on Monday that a person can still be aggressive toward an officer even if they aren't physically threatening them. We are all interconnected with each other. He told the agents that he spent the next several hours reaching out to Black faith leaders and community activists to inform them of what happened, recognizing that "by sunrise this was going to ignite a lot of emotion," according to documents describing the interview. A: (Long pause) We are a police department that has made considerable progress over the past three decades since I joined the department.