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u.s. news Diasabra 18 December 2021

Crews may have found 1887 time capsule in Lee statue base

(AP) — Crews working the top of a square box em- historians believe it’s doubt-
to remove the pedestal bedded in a 2,000-pound ful the picture is an actual
where a statue of Confed- (900-kilogram) granite block. photograph, which would be
erate Gen. Robert E. Lee It was located approximately rare and valuable.
towered over Richmond 20 feet (6 meters) off the
for more than a century ground in the main section of Records from the Library of
believe they’ve found a the pedestal, not in its base. Virginia suggest that 37 Rich-
time capsule that was bur- Workers who searched for it mond residents, organiza-
ied there in 1887. in September believed it was tions and businesses contrib-
tucked inside or under a cor- uted about 60 objects to the
The massive bronze eques- nerstone of the pedestal. capsule, many of which are
trian statue of Lee, erected Northam said in a news re- believed to be related to the
in 1890, was taken down in lease that the stone must Confederacy.
September, more than a year be removed and lowered to
after Gov. Ralph Northam the ground before historic If workers confirm the box
ordered its removal after preservation teams are able is the time capsule, it will
protests over racism and po- to confirm whether it is the be transported to the state taken down in 2020, but determined by a community-
lice brutality erupted across time capsule. Department of Historic Re- the Lee statue removal was driven effort to reimagine
the country — including in sources to be opened using blocked by two lawsuits un- Monument Avenue.
Richmond — following the “It looks like it is (the time best practices for historic til a ruling from the Supreme
police killing of George Floyd capsule),” said Clark Mer- preservation to maintain the Court of Virginia in Septem- After Floyd’s murder in
in Minneapolis. The day af- cer, Northam’s chief of staff. integrity of the artifacts. ber cleared the way for it to 2020, the Lee statue became
ter the statue was removed, “We’re hoping it hasn’t been be taken down. a focal point of the racial jus-
work crews spent more than damaged by water over the The Lee statue, which be- tice movement in Richmond.
12 hours searching for the last 100-plus years.” came a symbol of racial Northam announced ear- Since then, the pedestal has
time capsule in the 40-foot injustice, was one of five lier this month that the enor- been covered in graffiti,
(12-meter) tall pedestal, but A newspaper article from Confederate tributes along mous pedestal would be re- some of it profane and much
were unable to locate it. 1887 suggests the capsule Richmond’s Monument Av- moved, a reversal from Sep- of it denouncing the police.
contains Civil War memora- enue and the only one that tember, when the governor Some activists wanted to see
On Friday, Northam an- bilia and a “picture of Lincoln belonged to the state. The said the pedestal would stay it remain in place as a work of
nounced that crews found lying in his coffin,” although four city-owned statues were in place so its future could be protest art.

Defense rests at officer’s trial over Daunte Wright’s death

(AP) — The defense has the shooting, broke down in warrant. Video of the shoot- Chauvin, was standing trial
rested in the trial of a tears at one point as she said “I remember yelling, Taser, ing recorded by officers’ in nearby Minneapolis for
Minnesota police officer the traffic stop “just went Taser, Taser, and nothing body cameras recorded Pot- the killing of George Floyd.
charged in the fatal shoot- chaotic” after Wright tried happened, and then he told ter shouting “I’ll tase you!”
ing of Black motorist to get back into his car and me I shot him,” Potter said and “Taser, Taser, Taser!” be- Prosecutors argue that Pot-
Daunte Wright. leave. through tears. fore firing once. ter was an experienced offi-
cer who had been thoroughly
Kim Potter, 49, is charged Potter was training a new of- It was the first time the for- Besides arguing that Wright’s trained in the use of a Taser,
with manslaughter in ficer when that officer decid- mer Brooklyn Center officer death was a tragic mistake, including warnings about
Wright’s death during a traf- ed to pull Wright over for ex- has publicly spoken in detail Potter’s attorneys have also the danger of confusing one
fic stop April 11 in the Min- pired license plate tags and an about the shooting. She has said that she would have been with a handgun. They have
neapolis suburb of Brooklyn air freshener hanging from said she meant to use her Tas- justified in using deadly force to prove recklessness or cul-
Center. his mirror. Potter said that if er instead of her gun to stop to stop Wright from driving pable negligence in order to
she had been alone, she prob- Wright from fleeing while away and possibly dragging win a conviction on the man-
Potter has said she meant ably wouldn’t have made the officers were trying to arrest one of Potter’s fellow offi- slaughter charges.
to use her Taser to subdue stop. him during a traffic stop on cers.
Wright when he pulled away a warrant for a weapons pos- Miller said that when a per-
from officers and got back Potter acknowledged on session charge. Before Potter took the stand, son learns a new skill, mem-
into his car as they tried to cross-examination that she a witness called by her law- ory of an old skill might
arrest him on a warrant for a had been extensively trained Potter’s attorneys have ar- yers testified that police of- override that, resulting in an
weapons violation. She shot on the use of force and use of gued that she made a mistake ficers can mistakenly draw “action error” in which an
him once with her handgun Tasers. but also would have been their guns instead of their intended action has an unin-
instead. within her rights to use dead- Tasers under high-stress situ- tended effect.
Kim Potter, who is charged ly force if she had meant to ations because their ingrained
The defense wrapped up with manslaughter in because another officer was training takes over. ”You intend to do one thing,
their case soon after Pot- Wright’s April 11 death, said at risk of being dragged by think you’re doing that thing,
ter took the stand Friday to she saw a look of fear on an- Wright’s car. Laurence Miller, a psycholo- but do something else and
testify to her actions. Potter, other officer’s face before she gist who teaches at Florida only realize later that the ac-
who resigned two days after fired. Prosecutors say Potter was an Atlantic University, said Fri- tion that you intended was
experienced officer who had day that the more someone not the one you took,” he
extensive training in Taser repeats the same act, the less said.
use and the use of deadly they have to think about it
force, and that her actions and there can be circum- Miller said it happens all the
were unreasonable. stances during a stressful time and is often trivial, like
situation in which someone’s writing the wrong year on a
Potter, 49, has said she meant normal reactions may be “hi- check early in January. There
to draw her Taser instead of jacked.” are also more serious exam-
her gun when she shot the ples of action error, such as
20-year-old Wright during The death of Wright set off when a doctor might use an
an April 11 traffic stop as he angry demonstrations for old approach to treat some-
was trying to drive away from several days in Brooklyn one even after being trained
officers seeking to arrest him Center. It happened as an- in a newer one, he said.
on a weapons possession other white officer, Derek