Minnesota medical examiner lists George Floyd’s death as homicide

The Latest on the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer pressed a knee on his neck:

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A medical examiner in Minnesota has classified George Floyd’s death as a homicide, and says Floyd’s heart stopped while he was being restrained by police and had his neck suppressed.

The report Monday listed as “other significant conditions” that Floyd suffered from heart disease and hypertension, had fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.

A Minneapolis police officer has been charged with third-degree murder in Floyd’s death, and three other officers were fired.

Bystander video showed the officer, Derek Chauvin, holding his knee on Floyd’s death despite his “I can’t breathe” cries until Floyd eventually stopped moving. His death has sparked days of protest, some violent, across the nation.

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WASHINGTON — Hours before the District of Columbia’s 7 p.m. curfew was to go into effect, nearly a dozen National Guard vehicles rumbled through the White House grounds and exited onto Pennsylvania Avenue, opposite Lafayette Park where crowds had gathered for another night of protests on behalf of George Floyd.

Floyd’s name featured prominently in chants from the park that could be heard on the White House driveway.

Two secret Secret Service officers kept watch over the scene from their positions atop an entrance to the West Wing.

Also, public transportation officials in the District of Columbia say they are shutting down rail and bus service early Monday “in the interest of public safety” and because of the curfew.

» READ MORE: From Monday: Large protests, mass arrests

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced earlier Monday the curfew in response to violent protests over the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.

Metrorail services will shut down at 8 p.m. Buses will run until 9 p.m.

Service already had been cutback because of the pandemic. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority serves D.C. and nearby counties in Maryland and Virginia.

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BATON ROUGE, Louisiana — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said he was grateful that demonstrations in his state over the police custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis have been peaceful.

And he wouldn’t be drawn into comments on President Donald Trump’s remarks to some governors about violent protests. Edwards acknowledged that he was on a teleconference call in which Trump told the governors, “Most of you are weak,” and said state leaders must get tougher with people who steal and destroy property during the demonstrations.

“I think the president was directing himself to certain states where there were obviously many more problems than we have experienced here in Louisiana,” Edwards said when asked about the call at a Monday afternoon news conference.

Beyond that, he wouldn’t comment on Trump’s remarks. “I’ve got all that I can say grace over here,” he said, referring to efforts to fight the spread of the new coronavirus while dealing with the end of one virus-interrupted legislative session Monday and the beginning of a new one to deal with the state budget.

Edwards said Louisiana demonstrators have been “appropriately expressing their concerns and exercising their First Amendment rights.”

“The behavior of that Minneapolis police officer was egregious,” Edwards added. “It was very far below what was appropriate and acceptable. I don’t think any reputable member of society or of law enforcement would disagree with that assessment.”

He noted that Louisiana experienced emotional demonstrations in 2016. That’s when unrest grew over the shooting death of a man by Baton Rouge police during an altercation in a parking lot.

Edwards said the state has since then made strides in criminal justice reform and efforts to improve relations between police and citizens.

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MINNEAPOLIS — An Illinois man who allegedly participated in rioting in Minneapolis after the death of George Floyd has been arrested and charged with federal counts.

Matthew Lee Rupert, 28, of Galesville, Illinois, was arrested Monday in Chicago and charged by criminal complaint with three counts, including civil disorder, carrying on a riot and possession of unregistered destructive devices.

According to an FBI affidavit, Rupert posted a self-recorded video on his Facebook page last week that shows him in Minneapolis, handing out explosive devices to others and encouraging them to throw the explosives at law enforcement. The video also shows him damaging property, attempting to light a business on fire, and looting.

The affidavit says that on Saturday, Rupert posted on his Facebook page that he was headed to Chicago, and that he would loot there.

Early Sunday morning, he posted more videos of himself in and around Chicago, and saying “let’s start a riot.”

He was arrested by Chicago police for violating an emergency curfew in the city. Officers found several destructive devices, a hammer, a heavy-duty flashlight and cash in his vehicle, according to authorities.

Rupert was appearing in federal court in Chicago on Monday. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney to comment on his behalf.

Floyd, a black man, died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck while Floyd was handcuffed and saying that he couldn’t breathe. His death sparked protests in Minneapolis and around the country, some of which became violent.

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SEATTLE — Mayor Jenny Durkan announced that Seattle would again have a curfew Monday evening following days of George Floyd protests that turned violent, with storefronts smashed and items stolen.

At a news conference, Durkan said the curfew would begin at 6 p.m. and last until 5 a.m. There were curfews in Seattle on Saturday and Sunday nights as well.

Durkan said most of the thousands of protesters were peaceful, but there was an element that engaged in “violence, looting and chaos.” Gov. Jay Inslee has sent 400 National Guard troops to help Seattle contain demonstrations.

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NEW YORK — New York City is imposing an 11 p.m. curfew as the nation’s biggest city tries to head off another night of violence erupting amid protests over George Floyd’s death.

Its curfew will last from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

The limitation on 8.6 million people’s movements comes on top of coronavirus restrictions and as the mayor and governor deplored the outbreaks of violence, but also criticized some police actions.

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MINNEAPOLIS — An autopsy commissioned for George Floyd’s family found that Floyd died of asphyxiation due to neck and back compression when a Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for several minutes and ignored his cries of distress, the Floyd family’s attorneys said Monday.

The autopsy by a doctor who also examined Eric Garner’s body found the compression cut off blood to Floyd’s brain, and weight on his back made it hard to breathe.

The family’s autopsy differs from the official autopsy as described in a criminal complaint against the officer.

That autopsy included the effects of being restrained, along with underlying health issues and potential intoxicants in Floyd’s system, but also said it found nothing “to support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.”

Floyd, a black man who was in handcuffs at the time, died after the white officer ignored bystander shouts to get off him and Floyd’s cries that he couldn’t breathe.

His death, captured on citizen video, sparked days of protests in Minneapolis that have spread to cities around America.

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NEW YORK -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday he was concerned that mass protests over George Floyd’s death such as those in New York City could imperil the long, hard fight to contain the coronavirus pandemic in a worldwide hotspot.

“You turn on the TV and you see these mass gatherings that could potentially be infecting hundreds and hundreds of people after everything that we have done,” Cuomo said in the city at his daily briefing. “We have to take a minute and ask ourselves: ‘What are we doing here?’”

The Democratic governor said he agreed with demonstrators fighting racism and societal inequality. But he expressed frustration about possibly compromising more than two months of social and economic sacrifices. New York City is set to begin phasing in economic activity June 8.

“New York City opens next week. It took us 93 days to get here. Is this smart?” he asked.

Although many demonstrators are young, they could be spreading the virus to their mothers, fathers and grandparents, Cuomo said.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed similar concerns at a separate briefing, saying: “For those who have made their presence felt, made their voices heard, the safest thing from this point is to stay home, obviously.”

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San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said that for the second day the city will have a curfew starting at 8 p.m. Monday.

“It’s almost unprecedented in this city but it’s something we have to do to keep order in these times,” Scott said

Scott said a curfew and 208 police officers sent in from across the state helped keep order Sunday when officers seized a loaded handgun and a backpack with fireworks and explosives and arrested 87 people on violating a curfew and looting charges. Of those 64 have been released and 23 remain in custody, he said.

Scott said officers were overwhelmed Saturday when San Francisco’s iconic Union Square saw people stealing leather bags from the Coach store and shoes from the Salvatore Ferragamo location.

Officers fired tear gas to disperse protesters. He said 33 people were arrested Saturday for looting and the district attorney’s office is in the process of filing 19 of those cases.

Scott said demonstrations that drew about 5,000 people carrying signs and chanting “George Floyd” and “Black lives matter” were overwhelmingly peaceful Sunday and the vast majority of demonstrators dispersed without incident before the 8 p.m. curfew.

But a relatively small number of “defiant individuals” who had gathered in the Civic Center area refused to disperse, threw bottles at officers, and started trash fires, Scott said.

In response, officers and deputies with the sheriff’s office began making arrests, he said.

Scott said there were individuals who came to San Francisco with the sole purpose of vandalizing and looting.

“There were individuals who came to this city with crowbars, bolt cutter, tools that were designed specifically to get into businesses, to take property and loot,” he said.

He said on Saturday night officers saw a van passing out bricks to throw at officers and that they were attacked with Molotov cocktails in at least two occasions over the weekend.

“If that’s anybody’s idea of a peaceful protest, we need to talk about that,” he said.

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WASHINGTON — Washington DC police say they arrested 88 people Sunday night during violence and looting stemming from protests over the death of George Floyd.

Metropolitan Police Department Chief Peter Newsham said Monday that half of those arrested were charged with felony rioting and the rest with a variety of offenses including violating the 11 p.m. curfew.

Newsham said: “we are not done making arrests” and said the downtown area where much of the damage occurred was full of both government and private security cameras which would provide evidence for further arrests.

He encouraged both the residents of Washington DC and those protesters opposed to violent tactics to help police identify vandals and looters.

Mayor Muriel Bowser imposed a 7 p.m. curfew for Monday and Tuesday nights.

On Sunday, during a news conference she dismissed the idea of a curfew but then changed course early Sunday evening.

Bowser said Monday that the decision was made based on real-time intelligence and was designed to give police “additional tools” to keep the peace.

Bowser’s decision-making drew criticism Monday morning from White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany who said the mayor acted slowly and should have made the curfew much earlier.

Bowser said she supported the cause of the peaceful protesters enraged over a long string of black American deaths at police hands.

“We certainly empathize with the righteous cause that people are here protesting. Everyone should be outraged by the murder of George Floyd,” she said. “However smashed windows and looting are becoming a bigger story than the broken systems that got us here.”

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A Florida prosecutor was fired Monday after where she compared demonstrators to animals in a Facebook posting she quickly deleted.

The Broward County State Attorney’s Office, which includes Fort Lauderdale, fired prosecutor Amy Bloom for posting, “When will people learn that their criminal acts and obnoxious protesting actually gets you nowhere? Act civilized and maybe things will change. I’ve never seen such animals except at the zoo.”

She said her description applied to protesters regardless of race.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Bloom quickly deleted the post, but someone copied it and it eventually reached her bosses.

The State Attorney’s Office confirmed the firing in a statement, saying her views are “entirely inconsistent” with its “ideals and principles.”

Bloom, who had worked for the office for eight years as a felony prosecutor, said Monday on Facebook, “I made a post and realized that it could be misinterpreted, so I deleted it within seconds. I believe in justice for all and that ALL lives matter.”

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MINNEAPOLIS — The brother of George Floyd appealed for peace Monday in the aftermath of riots and arson fires following the death of his brother in Minneapolis.

Terrence Floyd appeared at the intersection in south Minneapolis where his brother, a black man, died after a white police officer pinned his neck with his knee for several minutes a week ago.

Wearing a face mask with the image of his brother’s face on it, Terrence Floyd spent several minutes of silence at the flowers and other memorials that have sprung up to his brother.

“I understand you’re upset,” Terrence Floyd said to the crowd through a bullhorn. But he said civil unrest and destruction is “not going to bring my brother back at all. It may feel good for the moment, like when you drink, but when you are done, you’re going to wonder what did you do.”

Terrence Floyd said his family is “a peaceful family. My family is God-fearing.” And he said, “in every case of police brutality the same thing has been happening. You have protests, you destroy stuff ... so they want us to destroy ourselves. Let’s do this another way.”

He told the crowd to vote and to educate themselves. “Let’s switch it up, y’all.” He said his brother moved to Minneapolis from Houston and “loved it here. ... So I know he would not want you all to be doing this.”

At the end of his remarks, Terrence Floyd led the crowd in a chant of “What’s his name?” answered by “George Floyd.”

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A Fort Lauderdale police officer has been suspended after video showed him pushing a kneeling woman to the ground Sunday.

Others on the force quickly pushed the officer away from the woman and then down the street as bottles were thrown.

Mayor Dean Trantalis told reporters that the officer, who has not been named, is suspended pending an investigation.

“If it’s turned out that he acted inappropriately, then we will have swift discipline in response to what he did," Trantalis said. "We do not appreciate that kind of conduct, nobody in the department wants to be disrespected, and we feel this should never have happened.”