Deceit, Lies, And Political Corruption, And The Injustice They Caused

If you were asked to name what you think were some of the most prominent events, good or bad, to have occurred over the last five years, the world over, how would you respond? Perhaps the the COVID-19 pandemic; the 2020 presidential election; the Russian invasion of Ukraine; the October 7 (2023) Hamas attack on Israel; the January 6 (2021) protest; the exit from Afghanistan (2021); and I would also have to include as a collective what seems to have become commonplace in America, mass shootings.

But there is another that some would prefer we forget, collective amnesia so to speak, but more a painful memory, I speak of the 2020 so-called “summer of love.” You remember, the aftermath of the George Floyd death blamed on Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. The city, and cities across the nation, were set on fire. There were protests, demonstrations, violence, and death. There was over $2 billion in damage, with the destruction of private and public property; a police station was even burned to the ground and officers were attacked and injured. 

In a newly released documentary, “The Fall of Minneapolis,” this still-open wound is the subject of an investigation. It reveals injustice and widespread deception by those in powerful positions to twist and corrupt the facts and the truth. The documentary is produced by Lin Collin, a former anchor in the CBS affiliate in Minneapolis. When the riots erupted, Collin was taken off the air and demoted because her husband was the Minneapolis police union chief. 

The nation was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, with lives lost and nerves shattered. The Floyd death only added another untimely dimension to an already heightened state of fear and uncertainty. At the same time, the Democratic Party, media, political operatives, and the Biden presidential campaign took advantage of the chaos. It embraced the “Defund the Police Movement,” stirred up the mob with propaganda about far-right involvement, in a calculated effort to undermine then-President Trump’s reelection bid. 

The documentary reveals how false testimony in Officer Chauvin’s trail, regarding bodycam footage, was withheld for over two months. There is evidence the autopsy report was altered following the FBI’s involvement in the case, and Collin provides damning facts about the forensic record. While Collin was involved in investigating this matter, she and her husband were subjected to insults and harassment.

The case proved more controversial and went beyond what we knew at the time. It created a revolt in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. It stemmed from the decision to charge Chauvin’s fellow officers, who were on the scene during the altercation with Floyd, with second-degree murder. Several prosecutors refused to work on the case; they contended the decision “violated professional and ethics rules.”

Prosecutors in sworn testimony revealed how they were under extreme pressure to throw the book at Chauvin and the officers, because “the city was burning down.” One of the prosecutors stated, that when Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison became involved in the case, his “taking over the case was difficult, particularly when we had a governor who kind of threw us under the bus.”

The Hennepin County medical examiner, Dr. Anthony Baker, issued an original autopsy report that revealed “there was no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation. Mr. Floyd did not exhibit signs of damage to his airways or thyroid, or brain bleeding, bone injuries or internal bruising. There were no medical findings that showed any injury to the vital structures of Mr. Floyd’s neck. There were no medical indications of asphyxiation or strangulation.”

In a discussion with Amy Sweasy, another prosecutor in the county attorney’s office, Medical Examiner Baker confided in her with this statement “Amy, what happens when the actual evidence doesn’t match up with the public narrative that everybody’s already decided on; this is the kind of case that ends careers.”

In May of 2020, the medical examiner shared the results of a toxicology test with prosecutors; it showed Floyd had “fatal levels of fentanyl in his blood, along with methamphetamine.” He was also suffering from “COVID and arteriosclerotic heart disease.” The lawyer for the Floyd family, Ben Crump, falsely claimed that “George Floyd was a healthy young man,” while securing $27 million for the family, and I’m certain a good chunk of that for himself.

The well-known and supposedly highly respected forensic pathologist Michael Baden was consulted by Crump to review the findings, Baden determined “There was no underlying medical problem that caused or contributed to his (Floyd's) death.” Baden rendered this finding without having viewed Floyd’s body and autopsy slides. I would tend to think that if one were to check Baden’s bank account, you might find a sizeable deposit under miscellaneous. 

The documentary recounts how Judge Peter Cahill presided over the case. From the outset, he had an agenda and was biased toward Chauvin and his fellow officers. To this day he travels the country, and brags before audiences of how his judicial acumen served the cause of justice. 

Whatever you have come to believe regarding this case, I concluded from the very outset that the fix was in. And that the political class and law enforcement authorities betrayed the officers. They feared further and even more intense violence and destruction, and had to ensure a guilty verdict. Rioters, made up of anarchists, antifa thugs, and Black Lives Matter, were funded largely by George Soros. 

Lin Collin is a highly respected journalist and investigative reporter. Whether this documentary will change any minds, only time will tell. One thing is for certain, Officer Chauvin’s case should be reopened, and all the entities that sold their souls, and sold out the people of Minneapolis, should themselves be brought to justice.