RESEARCH

The Fall of Minneapolis documentary is based upon empirical research.

Based on numerous news reports, live videos, and other sources, the documentary also offers first-hand accounts of police officers involved in the riots and surrender of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis.

It also features police body cam video footage—which was initially withheld from the public (yet available online from many sources since September, 2020)—and not shown entirely to the jury during the trial of Derek Chauvin. It also features documents from official court proceedings, the official autopsy report, meeting memos, transcripts from interviews conducted by the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), and more.

This archive aims to underscore an underlying message of documentary: these resources have been available for years, yet far too few of us have considered them—or put them to good use in demanding truth, justice, and accountability from the politicians, the media, the prosecutors, and others who have obscured the truth.

A trove of information is publicly available within the court documents in the cases against the four former Minneapolis Police officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd:

The Arrest of George Floyd

George Floyd’s Criminal History

The Fall of Minneapolis begins with a quote from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz:

“The ‘killing’ of George Floyd “made us look at a reality that was always there, whether we didn’t see it or we didn’t want to see it.”

Ironically, however, it doesn’t seem as though Governor Walz’s proclamation applies to many of the circumstances concerning the arrest of George Floyd—particularly his criminal history, which spanned most of his adult life. It also doesn’t seem to apply to the police body-worn camera video of Mr. Floyd’s arrest, which Walz seems to consistently overlook.

Toward understanding “reality” as Walz himself suggests, it is important to understand Mr. Floyd’s criminal history for three key reasons:

  1. to understand his experience with encountering law enforcement

  2. to more fully understand his behavior at the time he was arrested on Many 25, 2020 (not to disparage his character, but understand why he apparently swallowed pills containing methamphetamine and fentanyl)

  3. to recognize how the lies began with Floyd himself when police initially approached him

As a key premise of the documentary suggests—“If we don’t stand for the truth, we’ll fall for the lies”—it is best to understand Mr. Floyd’s criminal history and all the other empirical evidence shown in the documentary for yourself…

Mr. Floyd’s criminal history includes several arrests, convictions, guilty pleas, jail sentences, and other dispositions according to court records:

George Perry Floyd (born 10/14/1973) used several aliases during his interactions with law enforcement officers, including:

  • Omar Jamal Jett (also Kett)

  • Perry Floyd

  • George Floyd

  • George Lee Floyd

The police body-worn camera videos

Producer Liz Collin and writer/director Dr. JC Chaix encourage everyone to view all of the police body cam videos of the arrest of George Floyd—in their entirety—for themselves.

The Fall of Minneapolis features video footage from the body-worn cameras of Officers Derek Chauvin, Alex Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao. These videos can be found online from various news and media sources. The sources that were used in the documentary are listed below.

Collin and Dr. Chaix also emphasize the confusion about the body cam video created by the media regarding video that was:

  • “released” by Judge Cahill

  • “reviewed” in court

  • “allowed and shown to the jury”

These are not all the same. To understand exactly what was and was not shown to the jury during the trial of Derek Chauvin, video recordings from the trial (not news reports) should be reviewed.

As Dr. Chaix has pointed out, not all of the police body-cam footage was shown in court. For example, in questioning the paramedic during Chauvin’s trial, prosecutor Erin Eldridge stopped the body-cam footage at about 20:29:45, as shown in this CourtTV video. Eldridge stopped the video before Officer Thomas Lane performed CPR on George Floyd and assisted with other life-saving procedures. Obviously, showing how Officer Lane performed CPR could pose reasonable doubt and undermine the prosecution’s charge that Officer Lane was guilty of aiding and abetting murder.

As for another example, Officer Scott Creighton arrested George Floyd for a narcotics violation in 2019. The video recording from Officer Creighton’s body-worn camera is about 20 minutes long (as seen in a version of it from Law & Crime Trial Network). However, while the video shows key similarities between George Floyd’s arrests in 2019 and 2020—and could help explain how and why Floyd swallowed illegal drugs and had similar medical emergencies—only a fraction of Creighton’s body-cam video footage was allowed to be shown to the jury during the trial of Derek Chauvin. Ultimately, what the body-cam video that was shown in court was subject to the rule of Judge Peter Cahill and motions of the prosecution, as well.

Officer Alex Kueng:
Body-worn Camera Video

Officer Kueng’s body-worn-camera video highlights several key facts, including:

  • George Floyd (who is Black) was arrested by Officer J. Alexander Kueng (who is Black)

  • Mr. Floyd resisted arrest, ignored police commands

  • Mr. Floyd said “I can’t choke. I can’t breathe” while still in the back of a police squad car (before Officer Chauvin even touched George Floyd)

Officer Kueng’s body cam video can be viewed below, or from these sources:

Officer Thomas Lane:
Body-worn Camera Video

Officer Thomas Lane’s body cam video recorded during the arrest of George Floyd was also featured in the documentaryThe Fall of Minneapolis.

The video from Officer Lane’s body cam shows several key facts, including:

  • Mr. Floyd resisted arrest, ignored police commands, and kicked Officer Thomas Lane

  • Mr. Floyd said “I can’t choke. I can’t breathe” while still in the back of a police squad car (before Officer Chauvin even touched George Floyd)

  • Officer Lane asked Mr. Floyd if he was “on anything”—i.e., on drugs; Mr. Floyd replied, “No, nothing.”

  • Officer Lane called for ambulance 36 seconds after George Floyd was subdued on the ground

Officer Lane’s body cam video can be viewed below, or from these sources:

Officer Tou Thao:
Body-worn Camera Video

Excerpts from the body cam video of Officer Tou Thao from the arrest of George Floyd were used in the documentaryThe Fall of Minneapolis.

Officer Thao’s body cam video shows important facts which were ignored by mainstream media, including:

  • that Officer Lane requested an EMS ambulance—and Officer Thao subsequently requested an EMS “Code 3” response—the highest priority with lights and sirens in emergency mode

  • how the officers were working together in performing the Maximal Restraint Technique (MRT)

  • how the four officers were initially going to apply a “hobble” restraint device—but de-escalated by not applying it (since they believed EMS would be there momentarily)

  • the (actual) behavior and remarks of the bystanders

Officer Thao’s body-worn camera video can also be seen here:

Officer Derek Chauvin:
Body-worn Camera Video

Video footage from Officer Derek Chauvin recorded during the arrest of George Floyd was not used in the documentaryThe Fall of Minneapolis.

As writer/director Dr. JC Chaix explained, there were two key reasons for this:

  • Chauvin’s body worn camera fell off just moments after the officers physically struggled with George Floyd

  • the body cam video recorded by the other officers’ bodycams show Officer Chauvin’s actions

Nonetheless, Dr. Chaix encourages everyone to see Chauvin’s body worn camera video for themselves, which is available from several media sources, including:

Officer Scott Creighton:
Body-worn Camera Video of George Floyd’s Arrest in 2019

The Fall of Minneapolis also features Officer Scott Creighton’s body-worn camera video recorded during the 2019 arrest of George Floyd. It shows how Floyd’s behavior was very similar to his arrest in 2020, almost a year later. Creighton’s body-worn camera video was roughly 20 minutes, however, Judge Peter Cahill permitted only a fraction of it to be shown to the jury.

Creighton was featured in The Fall of Minneapolis and testified during the trial of Derek Chauvin.

MRT

Maximal Restraint Technique

The Maximal Restraint Technique (MRT) has been used by the Minneapolis Police Department for decades prior to the arrest of George Floyd. It has also been used by police departments throughout the United States for just as long, if not longer.

Mayor Frey Repeated Lies About MRT

During a press conference, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey claimed “that particular technique that was used was not authorized by the MPD.” However, as explained in The Fall of Minneapolis, all officers were trained in the MRT as several training documents and presentations evidence—and highlight how Mayor Frey appears to have lied to the media and everyone else—as seen in the video below (at 16:35).

Minneapolis Police MRT Training

During the trial of Derek Chauvin, the defense motioned to submit various training documents and presentations that were used by the Minneapolis Police Department to train officers.

Judge Cahill refused to allow these documents to be shown to the jury. The training photo and presentation can be found in the exhibit below on page 26 of Exhibits 6, 7, and 8 submitted in the case against former officer Thomas Lane.

Thomas Lane explains MRT during interview with FBI & MN BCA

On May 31, 2020, former officer Thomas Lane was interviewed by special agents from the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). During this interview, which took place before charges of aiding and abetting murder were filed against him, Lane explained how he and the other three officers were using the Maximal Restraint Technique (MRT) according to policy 5-316 in the Minnesota Police Department policy and procedure manual.

The Fall of Minneapolis shows Lane’s body cam video, where he says “MRE”—and how he corrected himself during this interview, as shown on page seven (7).

The Minneapolis Police Department Policy 5-316—MRT

This is a copy of the “Use of Force” policy of the Minneapolis Police Department that was in effect when George Floyd died on May 25, 2020. It includes Policy 5-316, the Maximal Restraint Technique (MRT) that officers Derek Chauvin, Alex Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao used to subdue Mr. Floyd (who continued to physically resist arrest).

This copy was obtained from the Internet Archive, as collected from the minneapolismn.gov website on May 23, 2020—two days before George Floyd was arrested.

Chief Arradondo discussed MRT during interview with FBI & BCA special agents

On June 11, 2020, then Police Chief Medario Arradondo was interviewed by special agents from the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). When asked about the Maximal Restraint Technique (MRT), Chief Arradondo immediately identified how this technique involved a restraint device known as a “hobble” as he stated in his own words.

Chief Arradondo also explained how the particular policy (5-316) involving the use of the hobble and “the recovery position” (which is just one option in applying MRT).

This can be found on page 18 in Exhibit 14.

However, Chief Arradondo apparently misunderstood policy 5-316—or did not know what officers should do if a hobble is NOT applied.

Policy 5-316 requires officers to move a subject from a “prone position” to the “side recovery position” ONLY if a hobble is used (as highlighted below).

Officers Chauvin, Kueng, Lane, and Thao opted NOT to use a hobble. Therefore—according to MPD Policy 5-316—there was no mandate to put George Floyd in a “recovery position.”

Further, Chief Arradondo testified under oath during the trial of Derek Chauvin that he did not recognize MRT. Instead, when presented with Exhibit 17, Chief Arradondo testified that Officer Derek Chauvin was not using a technique authorized by the Minneapolis Police Department.

Also, policy 5-316 also clearly explains the procedure that officers must follow when using the MRT: “Officers shall monitor the restrained subject until the arrival of medical personnel, if necessary, or transfer to another agency occurs.”

The Autopsy

The death of George Floyd, one of the key parts of the documentary, is also perhaps the most controversial and contested.

During the trial of Derek Chauvin, the jury found that he committed murder beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, key medical evidence revealed in the official autopsy indicates that George Floyd had:

  • no life-threatening injuries (to the neck or elsewhere)

  • positive COVID-19 test results

  • methamphetamine (19 ng/mL)

  • fentanyl (11 ng/mL)

  • cannabinoids (THC)

  • arteriosclerotic heart disease

  • hypertensive heart disease (“the silent killer”) with 75% proximal and 75% mid narrowing of the left anterior descending coronary artery; and 90% proximal narrowing of the first diagonal branch of the right coronary artery

The Only Official Autopsy Report

There is only one official autopsy report that involved the physical examination of George Floyd’s body. The official autopsy of George Floyd was conducted on May 26, 2020 approximately 12 hours after he died by pathologist Dr. Andrew M. Baker, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner.

The word “homicide” was not written in the official autopsy report.

In-custody deaths: Cardiac arrest, drugs, and asphyxia in context

Along with the official autopsy report and Minneapolis Police Department documents, producer Liz Collin and writer/director Dr. JC Chaix reviewed hundreds of sources to better understand the context of in-custody deaths involving restraint, cardiac arrest, asphyxia, and other aspects.

Some of the many sources they reviewed include:

Dr. Baker: “The kind of case that ends careers”—sworn testimony of prosecutor Amy Sweasy

Amy Sweasy, was a prosecutor involved in the cases against former officers Derek Chauvin, Alex Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao. In an unrelated case—a civil suit against her former boss, Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman—Sweasy provided sworn testimony on August 21, 2023 that revealed key facts about the prosecution of the officers.

Sweasy testified that she had a conversation with Hennepin County Medical Examiner Dr. Andrew M. Baker about the autopsy of George Floyd.

Sweasy testified under oath that Dr. Baker said:

  • “there were no medical findings that showed any injury to the vital structures of Mr. Floyd’s neck” (p. 59, lines 5-7)

  • “there were no medical indications of asphyxia or strangulation” (page 59, lines 8-9)

  • “what happens when the actual evidence doesn’t match up with the public narrative that everyone’s already decided on?” (page 59, lines 10-12)

  • “this is the kind of case that ends careers” (p. 59, lines 13-14).

Overall, the article reveals the extreme pressure to prosecute Chauvin and the other three officers.

Read the initial draft of Sweay’s testimony that was filed in court appears below…

Another (final) version of Sweasy’s testimony (printed in smaller type) is available below or by searching court records for case number 27-CV-22-16364 (document date 2023-09-07). The redactions are part of the court record.

Related Information:

Ben Crump’s “independent autopsy” announcement

Attorney Benjamin Crump represented the family of George Floyd in a civil suit. On June 1, 2020, Crump a press conference to announce the results of an “independent autopsy” authored by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson (who were hired on behalf of the family of George Floyd).

Coincidentally, Crump announced the “independent autopsy” the same day that the results of the official autopsy report were released to the public.

The Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner’s autopsy “review”

At the request of the United Stated Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner conducted yet another autopsy “review” of the original, official autopsy conducted by Dr. Andrew M. Baker. As written in this report, a physical examination of George Floyd was not conducted; however it clearly states, “this case was reviewed in a staff consultation review conference.” This report from Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner was submitted as evidence during the trial of Derek Chauvin and is available on the Minnesota Judicial Branch website: 27-CR-20-12646: State vs. Derek Chauvin.

The Fall of the 3rd Precinct

The official after-action review

Following the riots and civil unrest, the City of Minneapolis hired a consulting firm, Hillard Heintze, to conduct an after-action review and write an official report. The scathing report highlights many of the failures of leadership, mismanagement, and inadequate planning and preparation at various levels of government.

The “siege” of the 3rd precinct: A riot-friendly report

Several police officers spoke in The Fall of Minneapolis about how the 3rd Precinct was surrendered—without any plan for a safe evacuation.

Meanwhile, Antifa and their cohorts, including the self-proclaimed “rebel alliance” CrimethInc, offered a much different account and analysis.

The CrimethInc. report attempts to explain how “different tactics compelled the police to abandon the Third Precinct during the rioting in Minneapolis in 2020.

The report also offers tips for future “sieges” and advises “rebels to set up the Telegram app on burner phones in order to stay informed while preventing police stingrays (false cell phone towers) from gleaning their personal information.”

Perhaps most significantly, the report also explains how “peaceful protesters” allowed “ballistics squads” to assail and “overwhelm” police officers:

“The non-violent tactics of peaceful protesters served two familiar aims and one unusual one:

  • They created a spectacle of legitimacy, which was intensified as police violence escalated.

  • They created a front line that blocked police attempts to advance when they deployed outside of the Precinct.

  • In addition, in an unexpected turn of affairs, the peaceful protestors shielded those who employed projectiles.”

Further, the account also identifies the tactics of other key groups including the “laser pointers,” “barricaders,” and “looters” who took part in civil unrest. In offering what appears to be an attempt at strategic warfare, the report also discusses “the ambiguity of violence and non-violence on the front lines.”

The Trial of derek chauvin

Read the Official Court Documents

The official court documents—including the exhibits of evidence, motions, and other facts and information—can be found online at the Minnesota Judicial Branch, under case 27-CR-20-12646: State vs. Derek Chauvin.

The Initial Complaint & Statement of Probable Cause

Perhaps the most important document is the original complaint filed against former officer Derek Chauvin on May 29, 2020.

It contains several factual errors (such as how George Floyd “walked with Officer Lane”; it was actually Officer Kueng, the Black officer who actually arrested Floyd).

However, the most striking aspect appears to be the exculpatory evidence mentioned in the probable cause statement.

For example, the complaint states: “While standing outside the car, Mr. Floyd began saying and repeating that he could not breathe” (page 2).

Floyd said, “When I start breathing… it’s going to go off on me,” while outside the police squad car, which can clearly be seen and heard on the police body cam video. Yet this fact was ignored during the trial. The complaint also mentions the police body worn camera video(s), however, these were withheld from the public for months.

Ethics Violation: Motion to disqualify Mike Freemen, The Hennepin County Attorney

On August 28, 2020, Derek Chauvin’s defense attorney, Eric Nelson, filed a motion to disqualify Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and several of his assistant attorneys. As Nelson wrote in the motion, “Mike Freeman and several of his assistant attorneys have made themselves witnesses in the case by interviewing other witnesses without a non-attorney witness present.” This included, in part if not entirely, meetings with the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, Dr. Baker about his autopsy findings.

Coincidentally—or not—before a ruling was made regarding this motion,Governor Tim Walz subsequently announced that the Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison was going to lead the prosecution for the state against the four officers. The motion was ultimately granted and Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman was disqualified from the case.

Appeal denied: Derek Chauvin’s appeal by the Court of Appeals of Minnesota

Derek Chauvin’s appeal was denied by the Court of Appeals of Minnesota on July 18, 2023. While the facts in the denial gloss several aspects, the most critical oversights include:

  • how and when officers called for an ambulance (36 seconds after George Floyd was subdued on the ground)

  • any explanation about Floyd’s complaints of not being able to breathe before he was removed from the back of the police squad car

  • any mention of the delayed EMS and fire department response, which “an off-duty firefighter” at the scene—who was mentioned in this denial of appeal—said was “not normal” and actually called 911 to report the delayed response and confusion of the fire department, in her sworn testimony under oath

The AFtermath

Lies & Crime Continued…

Despite the promises of politicians and officials, the city of Minneapolis does not seem to be on “the right side of history,” as Chief Medario Arradondo repeatedly claimed. The continued lies, the increase in crime, and denial of basic facts tell a much different story than what the mainstream media portrayed.

The 2020 BLM Protests Against Liz Collin

On June 3, 2020, BLM leaders organized protests outside of news station WCCO demanding the firing of news anchor/reporter Liz Collin (who later wrote the book, They’re Lying: The Media the Left and The Death of George Floyd and produced the documentary, The Fall of Minneapolis).

In August 2020, BLM organizers held another protest at the home of Liz Collin and her husband Bob Kroll (who was then the president of the police union in Minneapolis). One of the BLM organizers, Nekima Levy Armstrong, encouraged protesters to “take a knee” on Collin’s front lawn next to a flagpole flying an American flag.

Levy Armstrong also introduced John Thompson who offered a race-based tirade—and even yelled explicative remarks at young girls in the neighbor's garage. Thompson, who was a representative-elect for the Minnesota ouse of Representatives at the time, and boasted about “bringing the same f*cking message” to the Minnesota capitol. An excerpt of Thompson’s tirade appears in The Fall of Minneapolis.

Levy Armstrong also encouraged protesters to leave signs and other trash in Collin’s driveway so that she could “pick that sh*t up.” Thompson and other protesters then beat look-alike piñatas of Collin and her husband in their own driveway. Afterward, celebrity host Oprah Winfrey praised Nekima Levy Armstrong for her “work” and “good trouble.” The Star Tribune highlighted Oprah’s praise for Levy Armstrong.

Mayor Frey: “Crime is down”

As highlighted in The Fall of Minneapolis, crime statistics and the realities of crime are often not the same. About a month after the documentary was released (November 2023), Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara cautioned that crime trends may be “going in the right direction… But it’s no where near where it was prior to 2020.” Chief O'Hara’s caution seems to be a sober contradiction to Mayor Jacob Frey’s claims that “crime is down” in Minneapolis, which were featured in the documentary.

Producer Liz Collin and director Dr. JC Chaix encourage people to look beyond the political rhetoric and look at the actual crime data for themselves. The crime data and statistics shown in the documentary were derived from the open data provided by the Minneapolis Police Department, which were compared and triangulated with other resources, such as CrimeWatchMinneapolis data.

Chief O’Hara’s caution more accurately reflects the reality of crime in Minneapolis since the riots of 2020 than Mayor Frey’s blanket claims that “crime is down” and that Minneapolis is on the rebound. Even just a quick glance at the Minneapolis Police data indicates that crimes reported to the U.S. Department of Justice are not down below levels of 2019, the year before the rioting and unrest began.

The Scapegoating of Derek Chauvin, Part I

After The Fall of Minneapolis documentary was released, the political/media “narrative” about the death of George Floyd has been subjected to (long-overdue) scrutiny. One of the most concise, well-written re-examinations was published by The American Mind and written by TJ Harker (a former federal prosecutor and a former Deputy Attorney for the State of New Jersey). The title of Harker’s two-part essay makes his argument clear as does his conclusion about former officer Derek Chauvin: “He did not murder George Floyd."

Derek Chauvin’s federal appeal

Shortly before he was stabbed 22 times in the law library of a federal prison, Derek Chauvin filed an appeal in federal court. After his trial in state court, Chauvin began to realize that many of the motions that he believed were filed on his behalf were not. Likewise, with the benefit of hindsight, he realized that communications and potential testimony from other expert witnesses were ignored during the trial. Some of the experts, including medical doctors with decades of experience, reached out to Chauvin while in prison. It was through the long, difficult means of correspondence by mail that he was able to piece together what was ignored and what should not have been ignored during his trial, including the testimony several experts.

Below are some of the documents from this federal appeal.

The motion filed by Chauvin, who could not write it himself due to his stabbing injuries, asks for release from his “solitary medical confinement.”

More documents and evidence will be added soon…