ELECTION 2021-MINNEAPOLIS POLICING

Minneapolis voters reject replacing police with new agency

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis voters have rejected a proposal to replace the city’s police department with a new Department of Public Safety — an idea that arose from the May 2020 death of George Floyd. The initiative would have changed the city charter to remove a requirement that the city have a police department with a minimum number of officers. Supporters of the proposal said a complete overhaul of policing was necessary to stop police violence. Opponents said the proposal had no concrete plan for how to move forward and could make communities already affected by violence more vulnerable as crime is on the rise.

GEORGE FLOYD-OFFICER TRIAL

Judge releases names of jurors in Derek Chauvin's trial

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The judge who presided over the trial of Derek Chauvin has made public the names of jurors who convicted the former Minneapolis police officer of murder in the death of George Floyd. Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill also Monday released the names of alternates who watched the trial but did not deliberate, as well as questionnaires they filled out during jury selection. The release followed a request by The Associated Press and other news organizations to make the names public. Some jurors have spoken out since their verdict in April. Attempts by the AP to reach other jurors have been unsuccessful.

DRUG SEIZURES-OFFICER CONVICTED

Jury: Ex-Minneapolis officer confiscated drugs for himself

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A federal jury has convicted a former Minneapolis police officer for confiscating drugs during three separate investigations, which he then kept for his own use. Ty Jindra was found guilty of stealing Tramadol, methamphetamine and oxycodone. In two cases he filed false reports and in one case he failed to mention that he had discovered pills, prosecutors said. The 29-year-old Jindra was also found guilty of two civil rights violations, once for stopping a driver at a service station for a tag violation and once for pulling over three juveniles in a vehicle that slowly rolled through a stop sign. Both times he was accused of conducting illegal searches. Defense attorneys argued that Jindra threw away the pills. Prosecutors say there was no evidence of that.

GOP OPERATIVE-SEX TRAFFICKING

Judge: No release for GOP donor accused of sex trafficking

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal judge says a prominent Minnesota GOP donor charged with multiple counts of sex trafficking must remain in jail as he prepares his defense. U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz cited “very troubling” testimony that Anton Lazzaro threatened law enforcement and prosecutors after he was arrested. Lazzaro allegedly told Minneapolis police officer Brandon Brugger he knew where he lived and said federal prosecutor Laura Provinzino was “going to regret this.” Brugger also testified that Lazzaro tried but failed to find personal information about an FBI agent, whom Lazzaro called a “ghost.” The 30-year-old was charged in August with five counts of sex trafficking of minors and five other counts. His attorney has said he is being falsely accused and did not commit the crimes.

UNIVERSITY-TUITION BREAK

Free, reduced tuition program expanded to all UMinn campuses

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The University of Minnesota will offer free or reduced tuition to many Native American students attending its five campuses starting next fall. The cost waiver program had previously been offered only at the Morris campus, but now will be expanded to all five campuses, to also include Duluth, Rochester, Crookston and the Twin Cities. Incoming freshmen and tribal college transfer students who are enrolled members of one of Minnesota’s 11 federally recognized tribal nations will be eligible for free or reduced tuition, depending on their family income level. They can’t transfer from other private or public colleges in the state.

AP-US-ELECTION-2021-MAYORS

Adams wins NYC mayoral race; voters focused on police, crime

NEW YORK (AP) — Former police captain Eric Adams will be the next mayor of New York. Adams won the race Tuesday as voters across the U.S. picked new city leaders from candidates who were largely defined by their stances on police and crime. He will become the second Black mayor of the nation’s largest city. Adams first triumphed this summer in a crowded Democratic primary after he struck a nuanced stance on law enforcement issues. His message on crime and his experience as a police officer largely insulated him from attacks from his Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol.

COUPLE KILLED-SENTENCE

Man sentenced to nearly 19 years in fatal crash pursuit

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A judge in Otter Tail County has sentenced a man to nearly 19 years in prison for a crash that killed two people as he was being chased by deputies. As part of a plea agreement, 32-year-old Cody Freitag earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of fleeing a police officer resulting in death. Two counts of criminal vehicular homicide were dismissed. Freitag blew through a stop sign as he was being pursued by deputies and struck a car, killing 72-year-old Steven Christianson and his 71-year-old wife, Diane Christianson in October 2020.

ELECTION 2021-SCHOOL BOARD RACES

Elections testing GOP push to politicize school board races

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — School board races have become the new front in a culture war raging across the nation as resentments over COVID-19 restrictions and anti-racism curriculum reach a boiling point. Voters weighed in Tuesday on dozens of races that have been dominated by debates over masks, vaccines, race and history. The outcomes will decide not just districts’ policies but also whether the education fight has staying power as part of the national discourse and becomes a rallying issue for Republicans in the 2022 midterms. The political tracking website Ballotpedia has identified 76 school districts in 22 states where candidates took a stance on race in education or critical race theory.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021