Minneapolis 'autonomous zone' jeopardizes residents amid Derek Chauvin trial, police association says

The National Police Association (NPA) is putting pressure on the Minneapolis City Council, arguing residents living near George Floyd Square have suffered alone for months under an "autonomous zone," as already depleted police resources are pulled away from the neighborhood to prepare for "inevitable rioting" to come in the trial of ex-cop Derek Chauvin. 

Retired Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, spokeswoman for the National Police Association (NPA), said in an exclusive interview with Fox News this week that demonstrators have been camping out for months in a small "autonomous zone" set up by George Floyd Square, at the intersection of E. 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, renamed in his honor. That is where a bystander recorded the viral video that showed the several minutes Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck on May 25, 2020.

"George Floyd Square is now an autonomous zone. They just had a homicide there," Smith told Fox News, explaining that violence in the area has been an ongoing problem since last summer's riots.