by Scott McClallen
Hennepin County spent $3.7 million on the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, according to documents obtained by The Center Square via the Freedom of Information Act.
Securing the Hennepin County courthouse was the second-largest expense – $773,412 paying for barbed wire, razor fencing, barricades, and boarding up windows. The most significant expense was employee overtime costing $1.1 million.
Other expenses included:
- A leased drone detection equipment cost $18,000
- Food costs ate up $18,893
- Van rental for jury transport: $21,905
- Supplies cost $12,958
On April 20, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd after the former officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes while Floyd said he couldn’t breathe. Three other officers – J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao – watched and are scheduled to be tried in state court next year on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.
All four also face pending federal charges that they violated Floyd’s civil rights.
Costs have piled onto taxpayers since Floyd’s May 2020 death, including the expenditure of $11.7 million in a fund designated for natural disasters to rebuild Hennepin County.
In a lawsuit, Floyd’s family settled with the city of Minneapolis for a record $27 million.
The Minnesota National Guard response to initial riots cost nearly $13 million, who have been deployed more than three times since then.
About 3,500 National Guard protected Minneapolis during the six-week trial watched worldwide, costing $25 million.
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Scott McClallen is a staff writer covering Michigan and Minnesota for The Center Square. A graduate of Hillsdale College, his work has appeared on Forbes.com and FEE.org. Previously, he worked as a financial analyst at Pepsi. He is a staff reporter for The Center Square.
Photo “George Floyd Square” by Chad Davis. CC BY 2.0.
