Curfews ordered as police officer charged with killing George Floyd

MINNEAPOLIS - In an unusually swift move, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman on Friday afternoon announced criminal charges against the Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd.

It was an act caught on video and seen around the world, turning Minneapolis and St. Paul into a tinderbox as angry demonstrators set a police station ablaze and looted and destroyed several businesses.

The Twin Cities are imposing a dust to dawn curfew their mayors declared Friday.

The curfews will last until 6 a.m. Saturday, and then go into effect again at 8 p.m. Saturday, expiring 6 a.m. Sunday.

"During the curfew, all persons must not travel on any public street or in any public place," according to Mayor Jacob Frey's resolution.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter declared a state of local emergency Friday and announced the curfew, as well as inviting everyone to observe an hour of prayer from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The curfews do not extend to people traveling to or from work, emergency services, law enforcement, people seeking emergency medical care or fleeing danger, the homeless and the news media, according to a parallel order from Gov. Tim Walz."All Minnesotans in Minneapolis and Saint Paul are urged to voluntarily comply," according to a news release from the governor's office. "Peace officers will enforce the curfew and arrest those who refuse to comply."

Violations of the curfew are a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail or a $1,000 fine, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

Former vice-president Joe Biden lamented the "open wound" of the nation's systemic racism on Friday as he responded to the police killing. He drew an implicit contrast with President Donald Trump, who has suggested authorities could respond with violence to the protests that followed George Floyd's death.