George Floyd protests spread nationwide

By Melissa Macaya, Mike Hayes, Fernando Alfonso III, Daniella Diaz, Jessie Yeung, Steve George, Ivana Kottasová and Nick Thompson, CNN

Updated 8:56 p.m. ET, May 30, 2020
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3:36 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020

Fired Minneapolis officer had 18 complaints against him 

From CNN's Melissa Alonso

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer, is seen with his knee on the neck of George Floyd. Floyd later died.
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer, is seen with his knee on the neck of George Floyd. Floyd later died. From Darnella Frazier

Derek Chauvin, the former police officer seen with his knee on George Floyd’s neck, had 18 prior complaints filed with Minneapolis Police Department's (MPD) Internal Affairs, according to MPD. 

It's not clear what the internal affairs complaints were for and no detail was provided by MPD. 

Only two of the 18 complaints against Chauvin were "closed with discipline," according to a MPD internal affairs public summary. 

The "discipline issued" column listed a letter of reprimand for each of the two complaints.  

Former officer Tou Thao had six complaints filed with internal affairs, one of which was still open, the summary said. The other five were closed without discipline.  

Former Minneapolis police officers J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane had no complaints filed, according to a MPD internal affairs public summary. 

CNN has reached out to attorneys representing the officers for comment. 

2:51 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020

Trump "very upset" after seeing video of George Floyd, White House says

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal 

Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

President Trump was “very upset” by the video that sparked outrage over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Thursday afternoon. 

“He was very upset when he saw that video,” she said, adding that the President watched the video on Air Force One.  

“He was very upset by it. It was egregious. Appalling. Tragic. And it prompted him to pick up the phone, or the chief of staff to pick up the phone and say we need to expedite what was already an FBI investigation,” McEnany continued. “He wants justice to be served.” 

McEnany told reporters that Trump was being briefed this afternoon by Attorney General Bill Barr about the incident. 

2:31 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020

Trump being briefed on George Floyd's death

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal 

President Donald Trump on May 22
President Donald Trump on May 22 Alex Wong/Getty Images

President Trump is being briefed by Attorney General Bill Barr this afternoon on the death of George Floyd, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.

“As I’m briefing you at this moment, the President is receiving a briefing from the Attorney General Bill Barr on this and the deputy director of the FBI. So that is ongoing as I begin this briefing,” McEnany told reporters at the White House. 

McEnany called Floyd's death "absolutely tragic."  

Trump told reporters in Florida yesterday that he was “going to look” at the case, and would be getting “a report when we get back. A very full report.”

In a tweet later that day, Trump said he had called for the investigation “to be expedited.”

2:25 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020

Minnesota representative calls protests following George Floyd's death "heartbreaking"

From CNN's Ali Zaslav

Rep. Ilhan Omar in February
Rep. Ilhan Omar in February Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, said it was “heartbreaking” to watch protests continue last night in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

“To watch our city burn really is one of the most devastating things... It’s also devastating to know the anger and the frustration that people feel," Omar said.

Omar said she believes it’s important, however, to find a “balance” for peaceful protests because “violence begets violence.”

Rep. Val Demings, a Democrat from Florida who had an almost three decade career in law enforcement before becoming a congresswoman, called Floyd's death a "tragedy."

"It didn't have to happen. Officers are supposed to use the level of force that's necessary to meet the resistance. Clearly, Mr. Floyd was not resisting and it shouldn't have happened and… this officer must be held accountable," Demings said.

She continued: "I think you should ask as many Americans of all ethnicities, what do they think about this tragic death. Because this is not a black issue, this is an American issue."

2:30 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020

Minneapolis police chief apologizes for pain and deficit of hope

From CNN’s Mel Alonso

Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo in 2018
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo in 2018 Jerry Holt/Star Tribune via Getty Images

Minneapolis, Minnesota Police Chief Medaria Arradondo acknowledged his department's role in the "deficit of hope" in the city following the death of George Floyd.

"I'm absolutely. Sorry for the pain, the devastation trauma," Arradondo said at a briefing Thursday.

Arradondo said criminal behavior will not be allowed in the city.

"I cannot allow criminal acts to threaten the safety and also the trauma that already exist," says Arradondo.  

"Crowds got large and became more mobile," Arradondo said. The majority of demonstrators last night were gathering peacefully but there was a "core group" that was looting and engaging in other criminal acts, according to Arradondo. 

"The people that were involved in the criminal conduct" were not known to local community leaders, Arradondo said. 

There were minor injuries reported among community members but nothing significant, he said.

Watch:

1:01 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020

Officer involved in Floyd's death had previous excessive force settlement

From CNN's Chuck Johnston and Hollie Silverman 

One of the four officers fired for his involvement in the death of George Floyd was part of a 2017 excessive force lawsuit that was settled by the city of Minneapolis, according to a settlement obtained by CNN and confirmed by the attorney for the plaintiff in the case.  

Both the city and the officers denied liability in the settlement, according to a statement from the city.

Former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao was named in a lawsuit stemming from the 2014 arrest of Lamar Ferguson. CNN has not yet determined who is legally representing Thao.

Ferguson was subjected to "cruel and unusual punishment" by Thao and another officer during his arrest in an alley on October 7, 2014 on a warrant, according to the suit. 

The lawsuit claimed that the officers used "unreasonable force" during the arrest in the form of "punches, kicks and knees to the face and body while Ferguson was defenseless and handcuffed." Ferguson suffered broken teeth, bruising, and trauma as a result of the arrest, according to the lawsuit. 

Ferguson was walking home from his grandmother's house with his pregnant girlfriend when they were approached by a Minneapolis police car with Thao and the other officer inside. The officers allegedly put Ferguson in handcuffs behind his back and took his wallet with his identification out of his pocket, according to the lawsuit.

The second officer took the ID to run it through the the National Crime Information Center but no warrant showed up in the system, the lawsuit said. The second officer "falsely stated that there was a warrant out for Plaintiff's arrest," the lawsuit said, prior to the alleged physical attack occurring.

The lawsuit was settled by the city of Minneapolis on December 11, 2017 by payment of $25,000 to Lamar Ferguson and his attorneys, according to the settlement.

CNN's Pierre Meilhan contributed to this report.

1:11 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020

Minneapolis mayor to bring in resources from around the state to "restore peace and security"

From CNN's Elise Hammond

Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP
Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP

Minneapolis, Minnesota, Mayor Jacob Frey said the city will now begin an "all-out effort to restore peace and security in our city."

This comes after demonstrators protested Monday's death of George Floyd, a black man who died after pleading for help after a police officer pinned him – unarmed and handcuffed – to the ground.

Frey said at a press conference on Thursday that he has authorized a "unified command structure" that would allow Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo to use resources and personnel from other jurisdictions.

The city has also requested support from the state, Frey said.

On infrastructure and damage: The second night of protests transitioned to rioting and looting over a few blocks south of downtown, with people smashing their way into stores and setting businesses and other buildings ablaze.

Frey said protecting this infrastructure and the community is important especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Our communities need these assets especially during a pandemic. Our communities need grocery stores for food, they need banks for cash. We need pharmacies for needed medications," he said.

"Let's hold these communities dear by doing right by them and by safe guarding them and these community assets that we know they need especially during a pandemic. We need to offer radical love and compassion that we all have in us. I believe in the city and I know you do, too," Frey added.

1:26 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020

Floyd family: "Looting and violence distract from the strength of our collective voice"

People look on as a construction site burns near the Third Police Precinct in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 27.
People look on as a construction site burns near the Third Police Precinct in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 27. Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

George Floyd's family said the violence and looting occurring in the demonstrations "distract from the strength of our collective voice," according to a statement released in a series of tweets from Ben Crump, lawyer for the family.  

The family thanked "every person who is standing with them" and urged protesters to not “sink to the level of our oppressors.”

The statement also said the family “wants peace in Minneapolis.”

Read the full statement below:

12:44 p.m. ET, May 28, 2020

New York governor on George Floyd: “How many times do we have to learn the same lesson?”

From CNN's Brian Vitagliano 

State of New York
State of New York

Responding to a question about the death of George Floyd, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he thinks there is a criminal case against the law enforcement officer. 

“If I was a prosecutor, I would be looking at that case from the first moment because I think there is a criminal case there,” Cuomo said at his daily coronavirus press briefing on Thursday. 

“I think the situation was so disturbing and ugly and frightening, just frightening, that a law enforcement officer in this country could act that way,” he said. 

“How many times do we have to learn the same lesson?" he added.