L ast year, in the midst of economic turmoil and other effects from the coronavirus pandemic, protestors gathered in cities across the nation to demand justice for acts of violent racism and police brutality. As a result, millions of Americans and people around the world followed the progression of these cases. Many of them have since developed with updates on charges and court decisions. AHMAUD ARBERY Nearly two months after the video was leaked in May 2020, Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested and charged with aggravated assault and for the murder of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. In late December, lawyers for the McMichaels filed several motions. One of them asked that Arbery not be called a “victim” during the trial, stating it would cause prejudice. Another motion requested the court show only one photo of Arbery during the trial and that the photo be of himself and not include anyone else. Both men have pleaded “not guilty” to charges of felony murder and malice, and their defense attorneys denied any racist motives in the shooting. GEORGE FLOYD In October, the judge assigned to the former Minneapolis officers’ cases dropped the third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin, the officer who pinned George Floyd’s neck to the ground outside the Cup Foods corner store. The ruling said evidence did not show Chauvin’s actions threatened anyone’s safety but Floyd’s. In early February, prosecutors filed a motion requesting a judge to reinstate a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin. They also requested to add third-degree murder charges to Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and Alexander Kueng, the other three former officers involved in the case. BREONNA TAYLOR In September, the grand jury indicted Brett Hankinson for three counts of first-degree "wanton endangerment." Hankinson was one of three officers who executed the no-knock warrant for Tay- lor’s apartment. The charges came after the grand jury decided the shots Hankinson fired put the people in the apartment next to Taylor’s in danger. Myles Cosgrove, another of the three involved officers, and a detective who prepared the search warrant for Taylor’s apartment raid were officially fired in January. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, the third officer involved in the case, is still on administrative reassignment. RAYSHARD BROOKS On Jan. 25, Fulton County’s chief prosecutor, Fani Willis, asked the state to transfer Rayshard Brooks’ case outside of her office. Brooks was shot and killed outside a Wendy's restaurant by Garrett Rolfe, an Atlanta Police Officer in June. Willis said the former district attorney used video- clips from the shooting in his campaign commercials for reelection. She stated the conduct was unethical and should prevent her office from handling the case. A month after the statement, Rolfe’s attorneys filed to dismiss the case based on Willis’ decision. ELIJAH MCCLAIN On Jan. 9, Colorado’s attorney general announced a grand jury would investigate the case of Elijah McClain. The 23-year-old died after police officers placed him in a chokehold and injected him with 500 milligrams of ketamine. They were responding to a 911 call about a “suspicious person” wearing a ski mask. Jacob Blake Prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges against the officers involved in Jacob Blake’s shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Ben Crump, an attorney for Blake’s family, said he would file a lawsuit and continue fighting for racially just practices in policing. The victim's family reported Blake was paralyzed from the waist down after the shooting, and Blake was admitted to a Milwaukee hospital. In October, he was released from the hospital and entered a spinal rehabilitation center.
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