George Floyd death: Amy Klobuchar denies letting accused cop Derek Chauvin go scot-free in 2006 shooting
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has found herself in a spot in relation to the brutal death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police on Monday, May 25. It has been alleged that the Democratic lawmaker declined to prosecute Derek Chauvin, the white police officer who forced his knee against Floyd's neck while handcuffing him and pinning him to the ground for several minutes, which eventually led to his death. The accusation dates back to the time when Klobuchar was a state prosecutor and Chauvin was involved in another case. On Friday, May 29, 60-year-old Klobuchar, who was also a presidential candidate for this year’s election and is in the fray to become the Democrat's vice-presidential candidate, denied the charge as "absolutely false".
It was in 2006 when Chauvin, the officer who had several complaints against him, was a part of a shooting that came under investigation by the Minnesota prosecutor’s office. Klobuchar was the attorney of Hennepin County, where the Floyd incident occurred, between 1999 and 2007 when she took over as the senator. She told MSNBC that the decisions on the 14-year-old shooting case were made by her successor Michael Freeman and she was already in the Senate when the matter went to the grand jury. Freeman, who spoke on Floyd's death and said there is evidence that supported no criminal charge before his office changed the stand, was both the predecessor and successor to Klobuchar.
"This idea that I somehow declined a case which has been reported on some news blogs, and then sent out on the internet, against this officer is absolutely false. It is a lie. I don't know what else to say about it than it is a lie," the Democratic lawmaker said. "The case went was investigated, that investigation continued into a time where I was already sworn into the US Senate. I never declined the case. It was handled and sent to the grand jury by my successor, and he has said that his office had said that it was not my place to make the decisions because the decisions were made when I was in the US Senate. In fact nine months after I was in the US Senate is when I went to the grand jury," Klobuchar added.
Chauvin, who was arrested and charged with murder in the Floyd case, was among the six officers who shot dead 42-year-old Wayne Reyes in 2006 after the man allegedly pointed a gun at the policemen. The grand jury, however, found the use of force justified in the case of Reyes.
Veteran Congressman James Clyburn questions Klobuchar
Even as Klobuchar defended herself against the allegation over her role as a state prosecutor in the wake of Floyd’s death, veteran African-American Democratic Congressman James Clyburn from South Carolina questioned her history of handling of African-American issues. Clyburn, the House Majority Whip, endorsed presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden ahead of the primary in his state in February end and the former vice president made a terrific turnaround from that point onwards.
"It certainly won’t help," Clyburn, an influential black leader, told Vanity Fair when asked if the Floyd death case would hurt Klobuchar’s chances of becoming the vice president. She is among the frontrunners to emerge as Biden’s running mate as the Democrat has vowed to pick a woman as his deputy if he wins the November 3 election against President Donald Trump. "But it’s not just this. Her history with similar situations when she was a prosecutor came up time and again during the campaign. I suspect this incident plays into that," Clyburn, 79, said. It’s not the first time that the law-keepers of Minneapolis are facing charges of racism. The issue was a burning one even when Klobuchar was a prosecutor and even though she spoke on the matter while running for the president, she has come under more scrutiny in the wake of Floyd’s death.
Klobuchar thinks she was wrong
It is reported that Klobuchar refused to bring charges against many cops who were involved in shootings and instead sent the cases to the grand jury. According to some experts, such a practice favored the police officers and speaking to MSNBC, Klobuchar in a way admitted that while she was following the state procedure on those cases, she thought she was wrong. "I have said repeatedly back when I was the county attorney, the cases that we had involving officer involving shootings, went to a grand jury. That was true in every jurisdiction across our state. And that was true in many jurisdictions across the country. I think that was wrong," the senator said, adding: "Now, I think it would have been much better if I took the responsibility, and looked at the cases and made the decision, myself. But let me make this clear. We did not blow off these cases we brought them to a grand jury, presented the evidence for a potential criminal prosecution and the grand jury would come back with a decision."
Klobuchar’s chances of being picked as a VP candidate might come under more stress in the wake of the Floyd incident, not because of the allegations that she let Chauvin off 14 years ago, but that Biden himself is also under pressure to choose an African American woman as his running mate.