Georgia's Republican governor sues Atlanta mayor in bid to block city's mask mandate
16 July 2020
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's (R) office filed a lawsuit Thursday in an effort to block Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms from enforcing a citywide mask mandate, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
The big picture: The lawsuit comes a day after Kemp banned cities and counties from implementing mask mandates, voiding such orders implemented by at least 15 local governments. Kemp argues that the state's policy, which recommends but does not require masks in public, should override local policies.
- Kemp's decision to file a lawsuit will likely set up a legal battle between the state and local governments as they confront a surge in infections.
- The lawsuit, which names Bottoms and the City Council as defendants, argues Kemp has the power to "suspend municipal orders that are contradictory" to state laws or executive orders.
The state of play: The lawsuit challenges Bottom's decision to take Atlanta back to "phase one" guidelines on July 10, forcing restaurants to close dining rooms and other restrictions — including the new mask mandate.
- Georgia has over 127,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 3,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
- Half of all new Georgia cases are being reported in Atlanta, where Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms herself has tested positive for the virus.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.