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Walz seeks millions for securing Chauvin trial in March

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Updated  January 28, 2021 8:46pm CST
Death of George Floyd
FOX 9
article

Extra patrols were deployed to the Minnesota State Capitol earlier this year after the D.C. riots. Similarly beefed up secruity is expected for the Chauvin trial in Minneapolis later this year.  (FOX 9)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Gov. Tim Walz's administration expects it will require 600 state personnel and an untold number of local law enforcement officials to secure the March trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer accused of murdering George Floyd.

Walz's budget proposal asks lawmakers for a $35 million special fund that could be used to reimburse surrounding cities that send mutual aid to Minneapolis.

In addition, the departments of Public Safety and Natural Resources are seeking about $4 million for state law enforcement personnel costs related to the trial.

The Walz administration is pursuing the creation of the $35 million State Aid for Emergencies Account, which it calls SAFE. Capitol sources said one of the reasons for the urgency is the likelihood that surrounding cities will send officers into Minneapolis during the Chauvin trial.

"There is a gap in state assistance for local governments when a public safety event occurs in their community that is significant enough to exhaust their resources," Walz administration officials wrote in their request.

According to Walz administration budget documents, the breakdown of the other costs are as follows:

  • $2.382 million for State Patrol trooper overtime, lodging, food and supplies, which Walz's administration describes as "conservatively estimated." About 400 troopers and 70 supervisors could be deployed to the Twin Cities during the trials, Public Safety officials wrote.
  • $1.485 million for DNR officers. The state plans to send 125 officers to the Twin Cities, at an estimated cost of $1,200 per officer per day
  •  $385,000 for Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement agent overtime. Seven AGE agents would respond during the trials, according to budget documents.

The detailed costs in the governor's budget request are only for the Chauvin trial. Three other officers accused in Floyd's death are scheduled to go on trial in August.

Thursday, prosecutors led by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison appealed to the state Court of Appeals to rejoin the trials of the four fired Minneapolis police officers.