MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A timeline of key events beginning with George Floyd’s arrest on May 25, 2020, by four police officers in Minneapolis:
May 25, 2020 — Minneapolis police officers respond to a call shortly after 8 p.m. about a possible counterfeit $20 bill being used at a corner grocery and encounter a Black man, later identified as George Floyd, who struggles and ends up handcuffed and facedown on the ground. Officer Derek Chauvin presses his knee into Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes while bystanders shout at him to stop. Video shows Floyd repeatedly crying “I can’t breathe” before going limp. He’s pronounced dead at a hospital.
May 26 — Police issue a statement saying Floyd died after a “medical incident,” and that he physically resisted and appeared to be in medical distress. Minutes later, bystander video is posted online. Police release another statement saying the FBI will help investigate. Chauvin and three other officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — are fired. Protests begin.
May 27 — Mayor Jacob Frey calls for criminal charges against Chauvin. Protests lead to unrest in Minneapolis and other cities.
May 28 — Gov. Tim Walz activates the Minnesota National Guard. Police abandon the 3rd Precinct station as protesters overtake it and set it on fire.
May 29 — Chauvin is arrested and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. President Donald Trump tweets about “thugs” in Minneapolis protests and warns: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Protests turn violent again in Minneapolis and elsewhere.
May 31 — Walz says Attorney General Keith Ellison will lead prosecutions in Floyd’s death. The nationwide protests continue.
June 1 — The county medical examiner finds that Floyd’s heart stopped as police restrained him and compressed his neck, noting Floyd had existing health issues and listing fentanyl and methamphetamine use as “other significant conditions.“
June 2 — Minnesota’s Department of Human Rights launches a civil rights investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department.
June 4 — A funeral for Floyd is held in Minneapolis.
June 5 — Minneapolis bans chokeholds by police, the first of many changes including an overhaul of the Police Department’s use-of-force policy.
June 6 — Massive, peaceful protests happen nationwide to demand police reform. Services are held for Floyd in Raeford, North Carolina, near his birthplace.
June 7 — A majority of Minneapolis City Council members say they support dismantling the Police Department. The idea later stalls but sparks a national debate over police reform.
June 8 — Thousands pay their respects to Floyd in Houston, where he grew up. He’s buried the next day.
June 10 — Floyd’s brother testifies before the House Judiciary Committee for police accountability.
June 16 — Trump signs an executive order to encourage better police practices and establish a database to track officers with excessive use-of-force complaints.
July 15 — Floyd’s family sues Minneapolis and the four former officers.
July 21 — The Minnesota Legislature passes a broad slate of police accountability measures that includes bans on neck restraints, chokeholds and so-called warrior-style training.
Oct. 7 — Chauvin posts $1 million bond and is released from state prison, sparking more protests.
April 11 — Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, is fatally shot by a white police officer during a traffic stop in suburban Brooklyn Center, sparking more protests.
April 12 — Judge declines a request to sequester Chauvin jury immediately due to Wright ‘s death.
May 25 — A street festival, musical performances and moments of silence are held in Minneapolis and elsewhere to mark the anniversary of Floyd’s death. Floyd family members meet with President Joe Biden in Washington to discuss police reforms.
June 25: Cahill sentences Chauvin to 22 1/2 years in prison, after agreeing with prosecutors that aggravating factors warranted more than the 12 1/2-year sentence prescribed under state guidelines.
Nov. 2: Minneapolis voters reject a proposal to replace the city’s Police Department with a new Department of Public Safety.
Thousands of protesters began occupying the streets of Ottawa just less than three weeks ago, pledging to stay until all COVID-19 mandates and restrictions were removed,
While the message and purpose of the occupation has somewhat shifted, one thing remains: turmoil for residents and business owners in the downtown core.
The Ottawa Police Service has been the target of harsh criticism over its handling of the convoy crisis before and during the occupation, which culminated in the resignation of former police chief Peter Sloly.
Here’s a look back at how this started and where Ottawa sits now.
Supporters cheer on drivers in the protest convoy headed for Ottawa from an overpass in Kingston, Ont., on Friday, Jan. 28. (Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press)
Jan. 23: Convoy spreads message across Canada
As people in Ottawa slugged through another round of COVID-19 restrictions coupled with extremely cold temperatures, another challenge was about to arrive.
The so-called “Freedom Convoy” assembled in various locations across Canada and participants vowed to travel to the heart of the nation’s capital to fight COVID-19 mandates and restrictions, including a vaccine mandate for truckers to cross the Canada-U.S. border.
A person pumps their fists as they stand on top of a transport truck after arriving on Wellington Street in front of on Parliament Hill on Jan. 28. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
Jan. 28: Protesters arrive for 1st weekend
The first Thursday and Friday saw the most eager members of the convoy parking their large trucks in Ottawa and blocking streets in the downtown core.
One of the protest’s key organizers warned participants to demonstrate peacefully.
“We cannot achieve our goals if there are threats or acts of violence,” said Benjamin Dichter. “This movement is a peaceful protest, and we do not condone any acts of violence.”
He warned protesters not to enter government buildings, disrespect police officers, act in a way that escalates tense situations, and make “any type of threat.”
The City of Ottawa told residents to expect “significant traffic and transit delays or disruptions.”
Crowds are seen from a helicopter near Parliament Hill on Jan. 29. This was the largest gathering during the occupation. (Alexander Behne/CBC)
Jan. 29: Gathering draws thousands
The largest demonstration took place as thousands converged on Parliament Hill, along with the constant honking of truck and train horns, plus the smell of diesel fuel throughout the downtown core.
Police said no incidents of violence or injury was reported at the event, despite being loud and disruptive. That didn’t mean there weren’t problems, though.
Hateful messaging was spotted amid the crowds, including at least one Confederate Flag and anti-Semitic messaging such as swastikas.
One demonstrator was caught on camera dancing on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, while demonstrators adorned a statue of Terry Fox — the inspirational runner who inspired the nation with his “marathon of hope” — with anti-vaccine material and a defaced Canadian flag.
There was an outpouring of condemnation over the way demonstrators decorated the Terry Fox statue. The Canadian icon remains revered more than 40 years after his ‘Marathon of Hope’ and untimely death at age 22. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
The blatant disregard for public health measures, including the wearing of masks, forced the Rideau Centre and other downtown businesses to close.
Jan. 30: More closures due to demonstration
On the first Sunday, the downtown core was once again filled with the sounds of honking and chanting as thousands gathered near Parliament Hill for a second full day of protests.
As of late Sunday evening, the Portage, Chaudière and Alexandra bridges were all closed to traffic, which caused headaches for residents in the region needing to travel to and from work.
Several city-run facilities in the downtown would close Monday including Ottawa City Hall, the Rink of Dreams, and the Ottawa Public Library’s Main and Rideau branches.
At the time, former police chief Peter Sloly said it was possible the protest — which did not have a permit — could extend for several more days.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he had COVID-19 on Jan. 31 as thousands of protesters remained in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press via AP)
Week of Jan. 31: PM, mayor won’t meet with protesters
By Tuesday, despite growing criticism from residents and academics, Ottawa’s police chief praised the service’s response to a protest he called “unique in nature, massive in scale, polarizing in context and dangerous in literally every other aspect of the event itself.”
The force’s hate crime hotline was also re-shared to encourage residents to share information about hate crimes related to the demonstrations.
Former Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly expressed a belief policing alone couldn’t solve the ongoing demonstration in Ottawa. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
On Wednesday, Sloly said policing might not be enough to end the protest on its own.
“This is a national issue, not an Ottawa issue,” Sloly said. “I am increasingly concerned there is no policing solution to this.”
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the RCMP was sending additional resources to assist Ottawa police at the request of the mayor.
Convoy fundraiser co-organizer Tamara Lich spoke on Feb. 3 at the Marriott Hotel in Ottawa. She did not take any questions from the media. (Francis Ferland/CBC)
Feb. 4: GoFundMe shut down
Ottawa police said they would increase their presence and further restrict access to the city’s downtown to control what was expected to be another weekend of noisy protests, but they warned the situation remained volatile and dangerous.
In a Friday morning news release, police said their new “surge and contain strategy” would allow about 150 more officers to be dedicated to patrolling central Ottawa neighbourhoods and enforcing laws.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said it was time for the “occupation” in Ottawa to end.
Meanwhile, some city councillors of downtown wards walked the streets and said they would continue to do so throughout the weekend to keep residents safe.
Also, the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe announced it would stop payments to the organizers of “Freedom Convoy 2022” and refund donors directly because the protest violated its rules on violence and harassment.
Two protesters ride horses by parked trucks and near Parliament Hill during the second weekend of the demonstration. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)
Some protesters appeared to have settled in, with bouncy castles, barbecues, wooden shacks and piles of food and fuel appearing in downtown streets and nearby parks.
A protester carries empty jerry cans to troll police officers who were trying to crack down on the transportation of fuel to downtown vehicles. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
At an emergency meeting of the Ottawa Police Services Board on Saturday, board chair Coun. Diane Deans said the city was “under siege” and demanded a “concrete plan” to bring the demonstrations to an end.
Feb. 6: City declares state of emergency
The City of Ottawa declared a state of emergency on Sunday and Mayor Jim Watson described the situation in the nation’s capital as the “the most serious emergency our city has ever faced.”
That evening, dozens of heavily armed police officers descended on the baseball stadium parking lot on Coventry Road, which served as the staging area for the protesters operating in the downtown core.
Protesters said police removed the fuel that was being stored there to supply trucks parked in the city centre.
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson declared a municipal state of emergency as the second weekend of the demonstration came to a close. (Felix Desroches/Radio-Canada)
Week of Feb. 7: Need more cops to ‘turn up the heat’
As Ottawa moved into its second full week of dealing with the demonstration, Chief Peter Sloly told a meeting of Ottawa city council he needed an influx of almost 2,000 police officers and civilians to “turn up the heat.”
The city increased fines for noise, idling and fires but demonstrators didn’t seem deterred.
Zexi Li, a 21-year-old resident of Ottawa, is the face of a class-action lawsuit filed against organizers of the convoy that remains in the nation’s capital. (CBC)
On Thursday, a group of protesters disrupted traffic around Ottawa’s main airport for about two hours.
Police also said 911 lines were flooded with bogus calls, many of them originating from the United States.
Two protesters sit in a hot tub at the intersection of O’Connor and Wellington streets in downtown Ottawa on Feb. 12. (Patrick Louiseize/CBC)
Feb. 12: 3rd weekend arrives
Despite warnings, increased fines, and a hit to the pocketbook of those occupying Ottawa, most left their vehicles in park, and police didn’t move to change that.
The Saturday event featured demonstrators enjoying another live concert, but this time with an inflatable hot tub and more illegal fires to keep warm.
The display was enough to push some residents to put their feet down — in the middle of Bank Street.
A counter protest featured hundreds blocking trucks heading toward the downtown core for several hours, while Ottawa police set up an integrated command centre with its provincial and federal policing counterparts.
An Ottawa resident holds a sign as they participate in a counter protest to stop vehicles from driving to Parliament Hill. ( Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
The move gives the federal government temporary powers to handle ongoing blockades and protests against pandemic restrictions.
Feb. 15: Police chief resigns
As day 19 arrived, Peter Sloly announced his resignation as the police chief in Ottawa.
In his resignation letter, Sloly said he was proud of his ability to overhaul the force’s culture to better reflect the “diversity of the community we serve.”
He also said he was leaving the force confident it was “better positioned to end this occupation.”
Interim Ottawa police Chief Steve Bell, left, answers a question at a news conference in early February. Bell takes over for Peter Sloly, right, who resigned on Feb. 15. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
In a landslide victory for Indian table tennis star Manika Batra, the Delhi High Court on Friday suspended the Table Tennis Federation of India’s (TTFI) executive committee and ordered the appointment of an administrator to run its affairs.
Referring to it as a “sorry state of affairs”, the court noted that it was “appalled” by some of the observations of the three-member enquiry committee (constituted in November) regarding the manner in which TTFI and coach Soumyadeep Roy have been functioning. “After having perused the report in case an administrator is not appointed to run the federation by suspending the executive body the court will be failing in its duties towards sportspersons and the general public,” the court said.
It further observed that the Committee concluded a clear conflict of interest in Roy running a private academy despite being national coach.
Following the ruling, Manika said in a statement that she was “forced to approach the court” after being left with no other choice because she was “subjected to undue pressure and ill treatment” which put her into “huge mental agony”.
The Manika vs TTFI case has run for six months, with plenty of twists and rulings. Here’s a brief timeline of the events:
August 4: TTFI decides to issue a show-cause notice to Manika for refusing Roy’s assistance for her singles matches at the Tokyo Olympics. After her personal coach Sanmay Paranjape wasn’t allowed Field of Play (FOP) access at the Games venue, Manika turned down the prospect of Roy being present in her corner for singles matches. She played all her singles matches without a coach by her side and lost in the third round. For her mixed doubles matches along with Sharath Kamal, however, Roy was present.
August 26: In her response to TTFI’s show-cause notice, Manika alleges that she felt it was better to have “no coach at all” than to be “demoralized” by the presence of one who had asked her to “fix a match in favor of his student” fellow Indian player Sutirtha Mukherjee at the Olympic qualifiers in March 2021. She mentioned having then “promptly reported the matter to a TTFI official” and also claims to be in possession of evidence to corroborate her charges.
September 11: To examine the charges, TTFI sets up a five-member enquiry panel. Three of the five are Executive Committee members and it’s headed by the federation’s vice-president Chiranjib Chaudhari.
September 17: TTFI leaves out Manika from the Asian Championships squad on grounds of skipping the mandatory national camp in Sonepat.
September 19: Manika moves Delhi High Court questioning the federation’s rule that stipulates national camp attendance as a prerequisite for tournament selection. In her plea she alleges that the federation was carrying out selections in an unfair manner and targeting certain individuals. She also accuses Roy of pressuring her to concede her match against Sutirtha so “his student” could qualify for the Olympics.
September 20: HC seeks the Centre’s stand on Manika’s plea and asks the sports ministry to inquire into the management of the federation. Justice Rekha Palli gives the government counsel two days to respond to the petition. On the same day, TTFI reconstitutes its enquiry panel, this time with just three members in all, comprising law expert Parth Goswami, TTFI CEO Dhanraj Chaudhary and headed by retired Justice Kailash Gambhir.
September 23: The Court stays TTFI’s rule on mandatory national camp attendance for international tournament selection. Gives Centre four weeks to conduct an enquiry into the match-fixing allegations raised by the player and submit its report. The court also expresses its anguish at the hurried chop and change by TTFI of its enquiry panel within ten days of constituting it. “They are overreaching the court. I will issue a notice of contempt. I pass an order and you appoint a new person? This is shocking,” Justice Palli said.
In late October, news of the Integrity Unit of sport’s apex body, ITTF looking into Manika’s match-fixing allegations emerged. The Hindu reported on October 27 that among the evidence submitted by TTFI to the world body was a text dated March 19, by Manika’s coach Sanmay to a former player. According to the text reproduced in the report, the coach mentioned “what she (Manika) did for Sutirtha” and that she chose “to help”. It further mentioned a statement from an ITTF Blue Badge Umpire who officiated the Olympic qualifying tournament in Doha and testified that his conversations with Sanmay on the morning of the match between Manika and Sutirtha indicated a foreknowledge that both players would qualify. Had Sutirtha lost that match, her qualification on ranking alone would have been doubtful. Manika went on to lose the match and the result had confirmed Sutirtha’s Tokyo berth.
November 17: Delhi HC directs constitution of a three-member enquiry committee to look into match-fixing allegations leveled by Manika. The three members are — two former Supreme Court judges, Justice Vikramjit Sen and Justice AK Sikri and former athlete Gurbachan Singh Radhawa. The court indicates that based on the committee’s report it would consider appointing an administrator to run the federation. TTFI counsel informs the court that the federation had decided to recall its show-cause notice to Manika along with calling off any further action against her.
February 11: The Court suspends TTFI’s executive committee and orders appointment of administrator stating that TTFI’s conduct “prima facie” appears to be blameworthy as per the report in which the three-member committee observed that the federation has “only been safeguarding the interest of its officials”. “The fact that the court has appointed an administrator and called into question the clear conflict of interest by the coach in question, it’s without doubt that Manika’s plea has been upheld and merit has been found in her allegations,” Manika’s lawyer Akshay Amritanshu said. The court directed the administrator to send a copy of the Committee’s report to the ITTF “so that appropriate action can be taken”.
