MINNEAPOLIS (AP) 鈥� faced the biggest crisis of his political career when Minnesota鈥檚 two largest cities erupted in protests and riots after a white Minneapolis police officer
The in 2020 sparked a over racial discrimination and police misconduct. His death, and its complicated aftermath, tested Walz鈥檚 leadership at one of the state鈥檚 most consequential moments.
What the governor did 鈥� or failed to do 鈥� during and after the violence in Minneapolis and St. Paul drew sharp criticism from Republicans in Minnesota. Nor did it satisfy some progressives who had urged him to take bolder steps to remake policing in the state. Walz's defenders say he did an exemplary job under unprecedented circumstances.
Four years later, on the national stage as the Democratic nominee for vice president, Walz is facing similar questions and criticism: Republicans are calling him a left-wing radical who was too slow to act and some progressives are saying he was not radical enough in addressing police abuses.
A review by The Associated Press 鈥� based on government documents, consultant reports, news accounts, video and audio recordings, as well as interviews with families, activists, lawyers and public officials 鈥� paints a nuanced picture of how Walz handled the challenge. As a relatively new governor, he tried to balance the competing pressures and interests of local and federal officials, including then-President Donald Trump, while navigating the dangers posed by fast-evolving protests and riots taking place amid a deadly global pandemic.
鈥淪itting on the sidelines and critiquing, that鈥檚 not what being governor is. It鈥檚 making the hard decisions at the time,鈥� Walz said during in 2022.
He defended how local, state and federal authorities worked together, and said it should serve as model for other states. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud of Minnesota鈥檚 response; I鈥檓 proud of Minnesota鈥檚 first-responders who were out there, from firefighters to police to the National Guard, to citizens that were out there,鈥� he said.
Fateful days in May
Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020, Memorial Day. of his dying cries of 鈥淚 can't breathe鈥� spread quickly, stoking outrage. The protests were mostly peaceful at first, albeit with some vandalism and clashes with police, as leaders struggled to balance the free-speech rights of protesters against the need to protect public safety.
started on May 27, two nights later. A Target store was plundered. An auto parts store and several other businesses were torched. The police chief asked the mayor to seek help from the National Guard. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey would later say the governor hesitated, an accusation that Walz would deny.
Walz, a approved on May 28 to protect firefighters and the State Capitol complex, and declared a peacetime emergency, though he continued to leave most of the response in the hands of local authorities.
The destruction only worsened that night. Protestors took control of the 3rd Precinct station, which soon caught fire and was destroyed. Guard troops did not arrive at the police station until several hours later, in the early hours of May 29.
That day, Walz of the city鈥檚 response. He said the state would take control and he imposed a nighttime curfew.
"I will assume responsibility," Walz said, adding that he understood criticism that the state had not moved quickly enough. 鈥淭hat is on me,鈥� he said.
After another night of violence between protesters and police, and more arson, the governor ordered a He to send military police but he did not accept it. The next day, May 31, he said who within the Black community, would take over prosecution of the officers involved in Floyd鈥檚 death.
By the time most of the violence subsided, more than 1,500 businesses and buildings had been damaged, costing an estimated $500 million.
Republicans criticize state and local response
The Republican-controlled Minnesota Senate on the unrest and the official response that July. The final report in October 2020 blamed a failure of executive leadership at the state and local level and a hesitation by the Democratic governor and city leaders to confront their ideological allies.
鈥淕overnor Walz, his administration and Mayor Frey failed to realize the seriousness of the riots and the danger to Minnesotans if rioters were not confronted and stopped,鈥� the Senate GOP report said. 鈥淏oth Governor Walz and Mayor Frey failed to act in a timely manner to confront rioters with necessary force due to an ill-conceived philosophical belief that such an action would exacerbate the rioting.鈥�
During recent appearances in Minnesota, Trump falsely claimed that he personally was responsible for deploying the National Guard, even though it was actually Walz who gave the mobilization orders.
鈥淓very voter in Minnesota needs to know that when the violent mobs of anarchists and looters and Marxists came to burn down Minneapolis four years ago 鈥� remember me? 鈥� I couldn鈥檛 get your governor to act," the Republican presidential nominee said in July. 鈥淗e鈥檚 supposed to call in the National Guard or the Army. And he didn鈥檛 do it."
That contrasts sharply with the praise that Trump heaped on Walz as the dust settled on the crisis. Two days after Walz ordered the full National Guard mobilization, the then-president told governors and administration officials on a conference call that Minnesota's chief executive had been doing a stellar job.
鈥淲hat they did in Minneapolis was incredible. They went in and dominated, and it happened immediately,鈥� Trump said, according to an obtained by the AP. The audio shows that the president didn鈥檛 criticize the governor at the time. 鈥淭im, you called up big numbers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast, it was like bowling pins,鈥� Trump said.
Two nonpartisan external reviews, released in March 2022, found shortcoming in both the city's and the state's responses.
A commissioned by the Department of Public Safety, early on. The report said the state did not set up a multiagency command center until too late, four days after Floyd was killed. It said the center had a 鈥渃haotic beginning,鈥� with no clear chain of command, while the city continued to operate its own emergency operations center with competing law enforcement strategies. The report also said the National Guard was mobilized too late.
A separate and done by the risk management firm Hillard Heintze said Minneapolis officials who requested assistance from the Guard were unfamiliar with the process, which held up the approval and deployment of troops.
Walz is praised and criticized for his push for changes
In the months after the riots, Walz changes. He called lawmakers back into a that July. They like the kind used on Floyd and imposed a duty to intercede on officers who see a colleague using excessive force.
Walz signed a in 2021 that had some limits on no-knock warrants and created a police misconduct database. Later in 2021, the governor that had its roots in the 鈥渄efund the police鈥� movement. With Democrats in full control of the Legislature in 2023, he signed tougher restrictions on that, while short of a ban, permitted them in only very limited exceptions.
Some leaders of the movement for police reform say Walz鈥檚 sympathies lie with law enforcement over protestors.
Del Shea Perry called unsuccessfully for authorities to be punished after her son, died in what she considered a preventable death in a northern Minnesota jail in 2018 from a medical condition. The lack of accountability was one reason she took to the streets after Floyd was murdered, and she remains dissatisfied with the governor.
鈥淭his entire administration has failed me,鈥� Perry said. 鈥淲e elected them to be our voice, and you鈥檙e not even going to work for us. And we promise to put you in the position, and this is what you do. You get the Black vote and then all of a sudden you鈥檙e gone.鈥�
Michelle Gross, president of the Minnesota-based Communities United Against Police Brutality, said Walz was largely unreceptive to policies that would have led to more meaningful improvements in police accountability. She pointed to stalled efforts to end a judicial doctrine known as qualified immunity, which shields police officers from liability for misconduct, and a proposal to increase the statute of limitations for police wrongful death cases.
"He鈥檚 been a little bit too quick to kind of give the cops what they wanted,鈥� Gross said. 鈥淗e hasn鈥檛 been as responsive to passing legislation that would actually, you know, change policing in fundamental ways. So that鈥檚 been a big frustration.鈥�
Political allies, leaders such as Ellison, the state's who won convictions of the four officers charged in Floyd's death, have long defended Walz鈥檚 response to the riots and efforts to seek change.
Ellison said Walz found himself in an 鈥渋mpossible situation鈥� during the summer of 2020, but adequately balanced the concerns of a grieving city with threats to public safety during the protests and during the long fight for reform.
鈥淪omebody鈥檚 loved one is killed by the police, and you can鈥檛 restore that person because death is final,鈥� Ellison said. 鈥淭he best you can do is hold the (police) accountable.鈥�
Ben Crump, who represented Floyd鈥檚 family, praised Walz as a 鈥渃oncerned and compassionate leader鈥� for a grieving community in the wake of Floyd鈥檚 murder.
鈥淗e used his position to advocate for passage of important police reform legislation, which stalled in many other jurisdictions,鈥� Crump said. 鈥淎ll leaders who are bold enough to actually lead face scrutiny and criticism, with some believing they went too far and others not far enough. That is usually an indication that they found a necessary middle ground.鈥�
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Associated Press writer Richard Lardner in Washington contributed to this report.
Steve Karnowski And Michael Goldberg, The Associated Press
