UPDATED 1:15 PM PT – Friday, March 12, 2021
Minnesota authorities addressed safety concerns amid Derek Chauvin’s murder trial.
During a press briefing on Thursday, the Minneapolis mayor and police chief said they are working to prevent violence at the location where George Floyd died. The mayor noted there is a consensus to preserve the place where Floyd was killed so “tires and traffic never run over it again.”
This came as the police chief urged demonstrators to remain peaceful so that businesses could operate safely.
“We want to make sure that everyone who chooses to do so can do so peacefully but that also our residences, our businesses visitors, that people are feeling protected and that they are feeling safe,” Chief Medaria Arradondo of the Minneapolis Police Department said.
Several incidents of violence have occurred in the part of the city dubbed George Floyd Square.
A man walked in the makeshift memorial of George Floyd before the third day of jury selection began in the trial of former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin who is accused of killing Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota on March 10, 2021. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
Authorities said they are working with community leaders as small businesses have claimed customers are staying away because they feel unsafe.
Original Story: Minneapolis Officials: Working to make Floyd Square safe amid Chauvin trial