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A4 U.S. NEWS
Friday 14 april 2023

Minneapolis to pay $8.9M over Chauvin’s actions before Floyd

By JIM SALTER “forced to reckon once
Associated Press again with the deplorable
The city of Minneapolis acts of someone who has
agreed Thursday to pay proven to be a national
nearly $9 million to settle embarrassment.” But he
lawsuits filed by two people also cited “systemic failure”
who said former police offi- within the police depart-
cer Derek Chauvin pressed ment.
his knee into their necks “I am appalled at the re-
years before he used the petitive behavior of this
same move to kill George coward and disgusted by
Floyd. the inaction and accep-
John Pope Jr. will receive tance of that behavior by
$7.5 million and Zoya Code members of this depart-
will receive $1.375 million. ment. Such conduct is a
The settlements were an- disgrace to the badge and
nounced during a meet- an embarrassment to what
ing of the Minneapolis City is truly a very noble pro-
Council. fession,” O’Hara said in a
Both lawsuits stemmed from statement.
arrests in 2017 three years Code, who has a history of
before Chauvin killed Floyd homelessness and mental
during an arrest captured In this image taken from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin addresses the health problems, was ar-
court at the Hennepin County Courthouse on June 25, 2021, in Minneapolis.
on video that sparked pro- Associated Press rested in June 2017 after
tests worldwide, prompted she allegedly tried to stran-
a national reckoning on been held accountable in ally dropped, but Chauvin leased soon. gle her mother with an ex-
racial injustice and com- 2017,” Frey told reporters. is in prison for Floyd’s mur- “The easy thing is to blame tension cord. Pope was 14
pelled a Minneapolis Police Both lawsuits named der. Chauvin for everything,” in September 2017 when,
Department overhaul. Chauvin and several other Bob Bennett, an attor- Bennett said in a written according to his lawsuit,
At a news conference officers. The lawsuits al- ney for Pope and Code, statement. “The important Chauvin subjected him to
Thursday, Mayor Jacob leged police misconduct, noted that other officers thing that the video shows excessive force while re-
Frey apologized to all vic- excessive force, and rac- failed to intervene or report is that none of those nine sponding to a domestic as-
tims of Chauvin and said ism Pope and Code are Chauvin, and police lead- to a dozen officers at the sault report.
that if police supervisors Black; Chauvin is white. ers allowed Chauvin to scene ever reported it, ever City Council member Elliott
“had done the right thing, They also said the city knew keep working even though tried to stop it. They violated Payne said he hoped the
George Floyd would not that Chauvin had a record they had video evidence their own policy and really settlements “bring some
have been murdered.” of misconduct but didn’t from body cameras of his any sense of humanity.” closure to this era and is a
“He should have been fired stop him. Criminal charges wrongdoing. He said the Police Chief Brian O’Hara stark reminder of the work
in 2017. He should have in both cases were eventu- video is expected to be re- said the department is we have lying ahead.”q

Tech consultant arrested in killing of Cash App founder Lee

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ and Scott declined to give de- Police found Lee with stab and Emeryville, but Scott clear whether Momeni has
STEFANIE DAZIO tails on how they linked the wounds in the Rincon Hill would not say whether a an attorney who can speak
Associated Press death to Momeni or how neighborhood of San Fran- weapon has been found. on his behalf.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A the men knew each other. cisco at 2:30 a.m. April 4. Lee is known for creating “I hope today’s arrest can
self-proclaimed tech con- The chief also refused to He died at a hospital. the widely used mobile begin a process of heal-
sultant was arrested Thurs- disclose a possible motive Investigators served search payment service Cash App ing and closure for all those
day in the stabbing death for the killing. warrants in San Francisco while working as chief tech- touched by this tragedy,”
of Cash App founder Bob nology officer of the pay- Matt Dorsey, another San
Lee last week in San Fran- ment company Square, Francisco supervisor, tweet-
cisco, police said. now known as Block. He ed Thursday morning.
Nima Momeni, 38, was was the chief product offi- Prominent tech leaders
booked on suspicion of cer for the cryptocurrency took to social media to
murder, San Francisco Po- firm MobileCoin at the time mourn Lee’s death and
lice Chief Bill Scott said dur- of his death. blame San Francisco for
ing a news conference. “I acknowledge and un- what they call the city’s
He was taken into custody derstand how the loss of a lax attitude toward crime.
Thursday morning in Em- young, vibrant leader and Scott and Jenkins pushed
eryville, a San Francisco innovator has rocked our back against that narrative
suburb. city and even beyond,” on Thursday, with the pros-
San Francisco District At- Jenkins said. ecutor specifically naming
torney Brooke Jenkins said On his LinkedIn profile, Mo- tech billionaire Elon Musk
Momeni will be charged meni describes himself as for commenting on the
with murder in Lee’s death an “IT Consultant/Entrepre- case.
and is expected to be ar- Flowers sit at a tree in front of the building where a technology neur” as well as the owner “This doesn’t have to do
raigned Friday. Prosecutors executive was fatally stabbed outside of in San Francisco, of a company called Ex- with San Francisco, this has
will ask a judge to hold him Thursday, April 6, 2023. pand IT. to do with human nature,”
without bail. Associated Press It was not immediately Scott said.q