The public viewing for George Floyd was held in Houston and the police officer accused of killing him appeared in a Minneapolis courtroom Monday, two weeks after Floyd’s death helped ignite a wave of historic protests across the nation.

Hundreds of mourners lined up to form a procession to Floyd’s coffin inside the Fountain of Praise church. Others paid their respects at a mural of Floyd on a wall in his old neighborhood in the city’s Third Ward.

“There’s something special about his life and his family,” said Bevan Walker, 50, as a snapped a photo of the mural. “His name is going to be synonymous with justice for generations to come.”

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with second-degree murder, has been in jail since his arrest May 29. A judge Monday set his unconditional bail at $1.25 million, or $1 million with standard conditions.

The drumbeat for “defunding” police was growing louder, despite opposition from Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden. A veto-proof majority of city council in Minneapolis has publicly expressed support for disbanding the city’s force. Mayors in Los Angeles and New York promised to funnel some funds from police to community programs. Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, representing Floyd’s family, has asked the United Nations for recommendations aimed at systemic changes in U.S. law enforcement.

“The United States government has consistently failed to hold police accountable and did not bring federal criminal charges even in cases with irrefutable video evidence,” Crump said in a statement.

A closer look at some recent developments:

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Joe Biden: Don’t defund police

Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden issued a statement saying he does not support the growing push to defund police departments. Biden, through spokesman Andrew Bates, said he supports funding initiatives such as mental health programs and substance abuse treatment so officers can concentrate on policing.

“He hears and shares the deep grief and frustration of those calling out for change, and is driven to ensure that justice is done and that we put a stop to this terrible pain,” Bates said in a statement.

Derek Chauvin bail: Up to $1.25 million

Derek Chauvin, the veteran Minneapolis police officer accused of second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd, appeared in court for a hearing Monday and had his conditional bail kept at $1 million. It was initially set at $500,000 but doubled Wednesday when a second-degree murder charge was added. Prosecutors were granted their request for $1.25 million unconditional bail.

Chauvin, 44, said almost nothing during an 11-minute hearing in which he appeared before Hennepin County Judge Jeannice M. Reding on closed-circuit television from the state’s maximum security prison in Oak Park Heights. His attorney, Eric Nelson, did not contest the bail and didn’t address the substance of the charges, which also include third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin was seen on video pressing his knee against Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes as the unarmed, handcuffed black man gasped that he couldn’t breathe. Court papers show Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd for two minutes after another officer couldn’t detect a pulse on him.

The other three officers involved in the case – J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao – are charged with aiding and abetting a murder. They remain in the Hennepin County jail on $750,000 bail.

Houston says goodbye to ‘Big Floyd’

Monday’s public viewing for George Floyd drew thousands — including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — in his childhood hometown of Houston. Floyd, 46, grew up in the neighborhood’s Cuney Homes housing project, also called “The Bricks.” Known as “Big Floyd,” he put out rap mix tapes and was a standout athlete at Jack Yates High School.

Floyd also had several brushes with the law. In 2009, he went to state prison after pleading guilty to charges of armed aggravated robbery. When he was released in 2013, friends say he returned to Houston, determined to steer youth away from the mistakes he made.

“Just having his presence there really helped solidify things in the neighborhood,” said Chris Johnson, a minister at Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church. “He helped a lot of conflicted and confused people.”

Sheila Masters, who knew Floyd since he was a boy, said he was an energetic young man, dreaming about someday playing sports professionally and promising Masters and his mother to “one day take us out of the hood.” Masters, 59, who is the mother of rapper and lifelong Floyd friend Cal Wayne, said she hoped people didn’t ease up on protests, even after Floyd is buried Tuesday in Houston.  

“Please don’t stop fighting. Please don’t stop marching,” said Masters, who wore a “Justice for George Floyd” mask. “Change hasn’t come yet. Change has to start with us.”

– Rick Jervis

Portland police chief steps down amid criticism

Jami Resch, strongly criticized for her department’s heavy-handed approach toward protests sparked by George Floyd’s death, resigned Monday as police chief of Portand, Oregon. She had taken the job less than six months ago. Chuck Lovell, an African American lieutenant on the force, was promoted to replaced her.

Resch said she suggested the change in command to Mayor Ted Wheeler, who said he supported Lovell to lead the department as it moves through needed reforms.

In other cities: 

– Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is fending off calls for her resignation for law enforcement’s use of a type of tear gas to disperse Sunday night protesters, days after Durcan and the police chief said such tactics would not be employed for at least a month.

– Nashville Mayor John Cooper said much of the city’s police force would be outfitted with body cameras and in-car cameras in July, a program that had been delayed over costs.

– Los Angeles prosecutors said they won’t bring charges against thousands of protesters arrested for violating curfew and failing to disperse.

– Denver police say they are banning the use of chokeholds effective immediately and requiring officers who point their guns at anyone to file a report and notify a supervisor.

‘Defund police’: Here’s what is happening

The call to “defund the police” is gaining momentum. In Minneapolis, a veto-proof majority of the city council committed to dismantling its police department, breaking with Mayor Jacob Frey’s desire to make changes but not break up the embattled police force. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti vowed to cut as much as $150 million from a planned increase in the police budget, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would move funding from the NYPD to youth initiatives and social services.

“It’s not just about taking away money from the police, it’s about reinvesting those dollars into black communities,” Patrisse Cullors, a co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, told WBUR in Boston.

– Ryan Miller

Democrats honor Floyd with silence, unveil police reform bill

House Democrats knelt in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds at a ceremony on Capitol Hill on Monday to honor George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes as he lay handcuffed in the street.

“It’s a long time, 8 minutes and 46 seconds. It’s a long time to be on one knee,” South Carolina Representative James Clyburn said. “But for 244 years, there were plenty of knees on the necks of blacks who came to this country.”

Democrats also unveiled a sweeping package addressing police changes, the first major legislative response to Floyd’s killing and protests against police brutality across the nation. The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 calls for mandatory dashboard and body cameras, an end to police chokeholds and the creation of a national registry to track officers with a record of misconduct.

The legislation is not expected to get a warm reception from most Republicans, who control the Senate.

– Christal Hayes

Fired Atlanta police officers sue for unlawful firing

Two police officers fired after using their Tasers during recent protests have filed a lawsuit to get their jobs back, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday.

The Atlanta police officers were fired after video showed authorities pulling two young people from a car and shooting them with stun guns Saturday, May 6. The officers were fired the next day, and they were charged with four other officers.

The lawsuit, addressed to Police Chief Erika Shields and Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, states Ivory Streeter and Mark Gardner’s use of force was lawful and they were fired without a proper investigation.

“Petitioners have suffered irreparable injury to their personal and professional reputations as a result of their unlawful dismissal,” the suit states, according to the Journal-Constitution.

– Elinor Aspegren

Biden met with Floyd family, won’t attend service

Joe Biden met with George Floyd’s family in Houston but will not attend the public viewing Monday or Tuesday’s private ceremony and burial, his office says. Family lawyer Ben Crump had said Biden was expected to attend, but Biden’s office now says he will provide a video message to avoid disruptions from the added security measures his attendance would require.

In England, statue of slave trader tossed into river

Police in Bristol, England, were searching for protesters who toppled a bronze statue of 17th century merchant, philanthropist and slave trader Edward Colston and tossed it into the River Avon. Photos from the scene show a protester with his knee on the figure’s neck, an homage to George Floyd, who died while being similarly restrained by a Minneapolis police officer. The BBC reports that the statue was later dragged through the city’s streets and thrown into the harbor. The empty plinth was used as a makeshift stage for protesters.

Colston was a principal of the Royal African Company that shipped tens of thousands of men, women and children from Africa to the Americas. He bequeathed his wealth to charities and his name is prominent on his city’s streets, memorials and buildings.

Floyd family appeals to UN to bring systemic changes to US policing

Civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, representing George Floyd’s family, has asked the United Nations to intervene in Floyd’s case and make recommendations for systemic police changes in the U.S. Crump is urging the UN to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes while other officers provided no aid.

Reforms requested include “deescalating techniques,” independent prosecutions and autopsies for every police killing. The goal: “Stop further human rights abuses including torture and extrajudicial killings of African Americans,” Crump said in a statement obtained by ABC.

Security fence draws protest art: ‘The whole nation is crying’

More than a mile of temporary security fencing encasing the White House and its environs as demonstrations roll across the city has become a showcase for protest art. Some sections of the fencing, which the Secret Service has said could come down this week, is covered with signs and posters: “Black Lives Matter,” “I Can’t Breathe,” “No more police murder of black people.” Kai Gamanya, who hung a painting featuring a fist flanked by a crown and a pyramid, told DCist her work reflects that black people come from royalty.

“It’s like the whole nation is crying, and this whole fence is crying,” Gamanya said. “And if you were to back up and see it from beginning to end, it’s nothing but posters from all the way down.”

More on protests, George Floyd:

Contributing: The Associated Press

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