Governor Tim Walz Orders Moment of Silence for George Floyd
[ST. PAUL, MN] – Governor Tim Walz has issued a proclamation asking Minnesotans to spend 8 minutes and 46 seconds in silence to honor George Floyd from 11:00 – 11:08.46 a.m. today, Tuesday, June 9, 2020, to mark the start of his funeral service.
“The world watched in horror as George Floyd’s humanity was taken away from him,” reads Governor Walz’s proclamation. “We will not wake up one day and have the disease of systemic racism cured. We must do everything in our power to come together to deconstruct generations of systemic racism in our state so that every Minnesotan – Black, Indigenous, Brown, or White – can be safe and thrive.”
On May 25, 2020, Mr. Floyd died while in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD). The Walz-Flanagan Administration is committed to addressing the systemic inequities and discrimination that led to this incident. On June 5, they announced next steps in the civil rights investigation into the MPD, filing an emergency court action and an agreed proposed court order that details the following terms:
- Chokeholds are immediately banned;
- Police officers have a duty to report and intervene if another officer utilizes an unauthorized use of force;
- The use of crowd control weapons during protests and demonstrations may only be approved by the Chief of Police;
- Timely and transparent discipline decisions for police officers must be made; and
- Body camera footage may be audited by the Minneapolis Civil Rights Department.
Mr. Floyd will be buried in Texas today in a service that begins at 11 a.m.
