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Matt: I'm Matt Katz, reporter at WNYC in for Tanzina Vega. This is The Takeaway. Today, jury selection was delayed for the highly anticipated trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer accused of killing George Floyd last May. On Friday, just days before Chauvin's trial was to start, an appeals court ruled that Minnesota's attorney general could reinstate third-degree murder charges against Chauvin, who was already facing charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Now the jury selection process has been delayed pending the decision on the push for the third-degree murder charge.

Last May Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground in a knee chokehold for about nine minutes as Floyd pleaded that he couldn't breathe. Footage of the incident sent shockwaves throughout Minneapolis and the nation at large. In the weeks and months that followed, protesters took to the streets and cities across the US calling out police violence and systemic racism. As proceedings get underway, the City of Minneapolis is on edge as the community prepares for possible civil unrest like it saw last summer. Jury selection is expected to take several weeks. For more on what's happening in Minneapolis, we're joined now by Vice President of the Minneapolis City Council, Andrea Jenkins. Council Vice President, welcome to the show.

Council Vice President: Hello, thank you so much.

Matt: Let's get started with the latest news. On Friday, an appeals court ruled that the state's Attorney General could reinstate these third-degree murder charges against Chauvin. Did that come as a surprise to you?

Council Vice President: It actually did come as a bit of a surprise. That request was denied initially by the judge and so myself and I think many others thought that ship had sailed. I think there was another case, the former Minneapolis officer who was convicted of murder had tried to appeal his case and appeal the third degree murder charge and that appeal was denied. Consequently, I think it set a precedent for the Chauvin case.

Matt: Is it important for you that this additional charge stick here, in that he already is facing a more serious second-degree murder charge but the third degree, I guess, would also indicate just the severity of the alleged crime?

Council Vice President: Yes, I think it is important. Certainly, we want to make sure that we have enough charges so that something will be charged, something will be found guilty in this situation. I think the community wants to see this charge as well. I think it's a good move for the prosecutor.

Matt: There's a sense that an additional charge could further guarantee a conviction or give a better chance for the prosecution to get a conviction here. Tensions are high right now in the city. Is the city anticipating protests, like we saw last summer?

Council Vice President: Well, we're certainly anticipating protests. There were a number of protests yesterday, I would say thousands of people all around the entire metro area. There are plans for protests today and all throughout the day, so there will be protests. I definitely don't anticipate them being as violent and destructive as last summer, but yes, there will be protests.

Matt: I wanted to ask about one of the things that came out of the events of last year. You, along with eight other members of the Minneapolis city council signed a pledge to dismantle and defund the police department. That has not happened. Can you tell us what came of this remarkable promise that at the time garnered so much attention?

Council Vice President: The process is still underway, man. I mean, it's not a simple feat. I would hope, you would imagine that you just can't wake up one day and say that the police department is gone. It's a process. Last summer the council put forth a charter change amendment. We have an independent charter commission that is appointed by a judge and they determine what initiatives can go on the ballot. Last year after the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent promise, as you refer to it, took place in June, there was simply a very short timeline in order to get that initiative through the process and on the ballot for November.

I think there was just a lot of confusion on the part of city residents around what the proposal actually meant and so subsequently, it did not get on the 2021 ballot. There is an attempt to bring it again. Two of my colleagues have reintroduced that amendment to dismantle the police department and create a Office of Public Safety, which would be very similar to what we have at the state level. An Office of Public Safety which includes our Armed law enforcement or state troopers. This new model would include a mental health process to help deal with issues that may not necessarily require an immediate police response. We shifted some funds from the Minneapolis police department to the office of violence prevention to begin to set up that mental health response. So, very much the process is underway, Matt.

Matt: You envision there could be a time when Minneapolis revolutionizes the approach to policing and dismantles what we know now as a police department and moves functions to a totally different other entity? It's going to take time, but do you imagine that will happen in Minneapolis at some point?

Council Vice President: Well, I am not a psychic. However, there's a lot of steps that has to happen before that can happen. The 435,000 residents get to weigh in on that question, or hopefully they will get to. At this point, it's not even guaranteed that the item will be on the ballot. Yes, I could see that happening. Let me be real clear. That new reality, if it were to occur, would include professional, trained, hopefully highly accountable, and with community oversight police department. There will be armed law enforcement in the city of Minneapolis.

Matt: You're not abolishing the police in other words. That is not the plan.

Council Vice President: No.

Matt: What is the relationship right now between the Minneapolis Police Department and the public? Obviously, it's complicated and operates on many different levels. Are you able to characterize the state of that relationship now, particularly compared to last summer?

Council Vice President: I would call it extremely fragile and fraught with mistrust on both sides.

Matt: I imagine that's a major hurdle in trying to make either small or generational reforms to the police department.

Council Vice President: It is. I certainly think the chief is absolutely amenable to and is calling for significant changes and making significant changes. The chief is absolutely on board. The rank and file, they continue to show up to their jobs every day. I would like to think that they are really trying to make systemic change as well, but it is a highly contentious community right now and I think many officers are feeling under attack. The community feels under attack and it's a very tense situation.

Matt: Do you have any hopes from this trial? What would you like to see come out of this trial after it's over in terms of justice or solace for the people of Minneapolis, or anything else that you imagine would be maybe a healing moment that could emanate from Chauvin's trial?

Council Vice President: Well, first of all, I want to see justice for the Floyd family. I think that is the first and foremost goal that I have in mind. Justice in this situation will look like a conviction of former officer Chauvin and the other former officers involved, which I think will go a long way towards beginning the healing process in this community. It's very clear to me that justice beyond justice in the criminal justice system, is desired and deserved by this community, to the extent that prior to George Floyd being murdered, prior even to the pandemic, I had been, along with, many, many community members, have been working for the past three years to develop what we call the 38th Street thrive plan.

As you may be familiar, the intersection where George Floyd was killed is 38th and Chicago. We have been working on this small area plan to revitalize the community, to bring green jobs, to bring a center for racial healing, because we didn't just start having racial problems on May 25th. This has been a problem in the United States, unaddressed problem in this country since 1619. We had a plan for developing a cultural center that focused on healing, that focused on uplifting the culture and providing a space for reflection, for truth-telling. I initiated a truth and reconciliation process in this city so that we can begin to address the underlying causes of the systemic issues in our society. There is a long-term plan to continue to pursue justice in various forms.

Matt: Andrea Jenkins is the vice president of the Minneapolis City Council. Council Vice President Jenkins, thank you very much for joining us.

Council Vice President: Thank you, Matt.

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