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Jacksonville sheriff says security for GOP convention is "not achievable" due to late notice

20 July 2020
 Dan Ackermann

Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams told Politico that security plans put forth for the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville, Fla., next month are "not achievable" under current time constraints.

Why it matters: The decision to move most of the RNC's programming to Jacksonville last month has already come under scrutiny due to a massive surge in coronavirus cases in Florida. These new security concerns deal another blow to President Trump's hopes for a raucous in-person convention.

What they're saying: "As we're talking today, we are still not close to having some kind of plan that we can work with that makes me comfortable that we're going to keep that event and the community safe," Williams told Politico in an interview published Monday.

  • "We do need law enforcement officers and we’ve gotten commitments, but not to the level that we thought we needed. And a lot of that is people having virus concerns from their communities, and I understand that," he continued.
  • "But there's a lot of things that need to happen: an event schedule nailed down, and being able to sign contracts and spend money so that we can prepare for this event. And none of that has happened yet."

Worth noting: Williams did not completely rule out the possibility that the RNC will go ahead, despite his serious doubts.

The bottom line: "At virtually 75 days it was an incredible lift, and everything would have to be perfect. And needless to say it has not," Williams said.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly 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.