Podcast ENG4UI

Protests sparked around the world after the arrest and killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. The officer was found guilty and sentenced to prison. The protests have caused damage and deaths. Over 2,600 people have been arrested, mostly for misdemeanors. Some protesters claim they were peaceful but still faced charges. The situation highlights the need for improved relations between police and citizens. This is Emma Goodwin reporting for the Gator Podcast. From Waterloo-Oxford District Secondary School, I'm Emma Goodwin, and this is the Gator Podcast. Good morning, everybody. Early this morning, we received more detail on the protest that started in Minneapolis, Minnesota that has now sparked protests all over the world. We've received data that more than 2,600 people have been arrested for protesting, and most of them being misdemeanors or crimes that didn't cause any harm to anyone. Before getting into that, I will give you a small recap of what incited all of these protests. On May 25th, a Minneapolis police officer arrested George Floyd, a 46-year-old man, for the suspicion that he was using counterfeit money. At the scene of the arrest, police officer Derek Chauvin proceeded to kneel on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 27 seconds, while Floyd yelled out, I can't breathe. Three other officers on the scene stood and watched while this happened. They stopped people from intervening, yet they didn't do anything about what was happening. These police officers have been fired, and after jurors found Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill sentenced him to 22 1⁄2 years in state prison. A federal judge later sentenced Chauvin to 21 years in prison for violating Floyd's civil rights. The protest has been a good way to open the eyes of people in the world, but protesters have also caused billions of dollars of damage. They have vandalized police cars with graffiti and targeted the house where Derek Chauvin and the other three officers were assigned. This was just the first night of the protests. A few days after the tragedy, protests started moving to other cities like Memphis and Los Angeles. Over time, protests started to move throughout the states and even into Canada. Even though these protests were for a good cause, they also have caused a lot of damage to property, and they have even caused deaths. In total, 25 people have died in the protests. Throughout all of the damage that has been done, over 2,600 people have been detained all around the states. Around 90% of those detained were arrested for misdemeanors, most on charges of violating curfew or emergency orders. The other 20% were charged with crimes related to violence or threat to other people, business, or property. This included charges like riot, burglary, looting, attempted murder, assault on police, weapons, and arson. A mother and a daughter went to one of the protests, and they said it was mostly peaceful. Yolanda McGriff states, I wasn't rioting, I wasn't looting, I wasn't doing anything but acting upon a request from my daughter to participate in something that she has a right to do. Yolanda McGriff was arrested and charged with obstructing a highway and was in police custody for 24 hours. As we can tell, many people were charged with things because the police didn't know what else to do. This needs to be changed, and we need to find a way to make everything more peaceful between both officers and citizens. That is it for the Gator Podcast. I am Emma Goodwin, and I will see you next time.