Minneapolis braces for Derek Chauvin trial verdict as closing arguments to begin – follow live

Three people a day have died at the hands of law enforcement since testifying began in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chuavin.

The New York Times reported that since testimony in the trial began on 29 March, at least 64 people have died at the hands of law enforcement across the US, averaging at three a day.

More than half of the victims have been Black and Latino people.

More than 3,000 National Guard members have been drafted into Minneapolis as closing arguments of Derek Chauvin’s murder trial are expected on Monday.

The National Guard members have been called up alongside around 1,100 officers from local public safety agencies, as the areas around the Hennepin County Courthouse have been boarded up.

If Mr Chauvin is acquitted of the murder of George Floyd, then widespread protests are expected in Minneapolis and the wider US.

Due to any possibly disruptions, schools In Minneapolis, including ones that only go back for the first time in a year on Monday, will close from Wednesday and go to distance-learning.

CNN anchor Chris Cuomo has said that police reform won’t happen until “white people’s kids start getting killed” after a string of police shootings of people of colour.

“George Floyd, Daunte Wright, I wonder if you’ll remember their names six months from today because there’ll be replaced by so many others,” Mr Cuomo said during his show on Friday.

Mr Cuomo criticised those who blame victims after police shootings. He specifically blasted those who have resisted calls for police accountability, and have tried to justify the shootings of 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago and others who died during altercations with police.

Read Gustaf Kilander’s full report here:

Republicans have condemned Maxine Walters for telling protesters in Minneapolis to “get more confrontational” if Derek Chauvin isn’t convicted of the murder of unarmed Black man George Floyd.

Mr Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer, is currently standing trial for the murder of Mr Floyd, who died in the former Minneapolis police officer’s custody last May.

A verdict could come as early as today after closing statements, but it’s unlikely any decision will put long-simmering tensions in Minneapolis between communities and police to rest following the fatal shooting of unarmed, 20-year-old Black man Daunte Wright last week.

Asked about the trial on Sunday, Ms Waters, a Democratic California representative, said that if Mr Chauvin is not found guilty, “we’ve got to stay on the street and we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational.

“We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.”

One of George Floyd’s brothers said the prosecution of Derek Chauvin, the police officer charged killing him, was going “great” but that “it’s all up to jury”.

As the trial entered its 10th day, a day when a respected medical expert told the jury Mr Floyd had been killed as a result of the way he was held down by Minneapolis police officers and was thus robbed of oxygen, Rodney Floyd said he was impressed by the witnesses who had spoken, and what they had said.

Yet, he said all he and other relatives and supporters of the man whose death last year sparked international outcry, could do was to stick together and hope the jury delivered what they considered a just verdict.

“The evidence is coming out, witnesses are stepping forward – great witnesses,” Rodney Floyd, one of the brothers of the man who was killed last May outside a convenience store, told The Independent as he entered court.

He added: “But again, you know, the case is up to the jury. But the the case is going great.”

Read Andrew Buncombe’s full report here:

A pig’s head has been thrown at the former home of a defence witness in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Retired police officer Barry Brodd testified last week that Mr Chuavin was justified in his use of force during the arrest of unarmed Black man George Floyd last May.

The Santa Rosa Police Department issued a statement on Saturday saying that it appeared that the “suspects in this vandalism were targeting” Mr Brodd for his testimony in the trial.

However, they confirmed that the vandals appeared to target the wrong house, as Mr Brodd has not lived in that residence for years.

All testimony is officially finished in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, after both sides rested their case on Thursday.

And despite being at the centre of the closely watched civil rights case, Mr Chauvin himself won’t testify, after he invoked the 5th Amendment in court in Minneapolis. He was not expected to take the stand.

A verdict could come as early as today after closing statements, but it’s unlikely any decision will put long-simmering tensions in Minneapolis between communities and police to rest following the fatal shooting of unarmed, 20-year-old Black man Daunte Wright last week.

Minneapolis schools will move to distance-learning from Wednesday in preparation for any possible disruptions in the city caused by the trial.

The city is bracing for the verdict, with the National Guard stationed and the areas around the Hennepin County Courthouse boarded up, as protests are expected if Mr Chauvin is acquitted.

Due to any possibly disruptions, schools In Minneapolis, including ones that only go back for the first time in a year on Monday, will close from Wednesday and go to distance-learning.

Closing arguments are set to begin in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on Monday, after both the prosecution and defence rested their cases last week.

Mr Chauvin is currently standing trial for the murder of unarmed Black man George Floyd, who died in the former Minneapolis police officer’s custody last May.

Before the 12 jurors are sequestered to determine the conclusion of the trial, they will hear a final appeal from both sides as the prosecution and defence deliver their closing arguments.

The jurors will then be sequestered to decide on a verdict, which could take just a few hours or up to several weeks.

Following both sides resting their cases on Thursday, Judge Peter Cahill told jurors to prepare for a lengthy deliberation process, telling them: “If I were you, I would plan for long and hope for short.”