the public safety aide for the city: “Have you talked to the mayor yet?” It was 1:00 in the morning the Tuesday after Memorial Day 2020; she brushed it off—she would respond later. Then the mayor,was calling her. He told her that there had been a “police-involved death,” noting that there were no guns involved. At the time she didn’t understand the emphasis, as details were scant.
Jenkins described high tension and “deep anxiety” in Minneapolis during the emotional three-week trial of Chauvin. Governor Walz had called in the National Guard to patrol the streets, and the courthouse where the trial was taking place was elaborately fortified. In the 10 hours it took the jury to convict Chauvin, the city was on edge; had he not been found guilty, protests were all but guaranteed.
“It would have to include fairness and justice in our economic systems,” Jenkins said. “A big part of what is driving crime in our society is the imbalance in resources that people have. It is a destructive reality of capitalism—the violent results of capitalism.”