Minneapolis City Council Members Want AG Ellison To Take Floyd Case

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Several Minneapolis City Council members are asking Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to appoint the state's attorney general as a special prosecutor in the death of George Floyd.

Six of the council's 13 members say they support a call from Floyd's family for Attorney General Keith Ellison to handle the prosecution of the police officer who held his knee on Floyd's neck Monday. The council members say they don't think Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has the public trust necessary for the job.

Freeman on Friday charged now-fired officer Derek Chauvin with third-degree murder in Floyd's death. Chauvin is white; Floyd was black.

The council members say Freeman waited too long in bringing charge. They say Ellison, who is black, is best qualified to handle the case. They also cite a working group he helped lead on deaths involving police.

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