Police have discovered the charred body of a man in the wreckage of a pawnshop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The building that houses the business, Max It Pawn, had been burned more than two months prior in the riots that resulted after the killing of George Floyd.
After an anonymous tip, investigators from the Minneapolis Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the state fire marshal’s division were acting on a tip when they discovered the body Monday morning, according to the Star Tribune. “The body appears to have suffered thermal injury, and we do have somebody charged with setting fire to that place,” MPD spokesman John Elder said. He added that city homicide detectives have since taken over the investigation. Medical examiners will release the victim’s identity once an autopsy is completed, which would include an exact cause and manner of death.
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Max It Pawn is located several blocks east of the Third Precinct police station, which is where the protests tended to center following Floyd’s May 25 at the hands of police. The four officers involved have since been fired and are currently facing charges. Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee into the back of Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. The other three, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, are charged with second-degree counts of aiding and abetting.
Earlier in July, Floyd’s family filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Minneapolis, which included the four former police officers involved in killing Floyd on May 25. The lawsuit argues that the officers violated Floyd’s constitutional rights and that the city “caused officers [to] act with impunity and without fear of retribution.” They are reportedly seeking unspecified financial damages, and the appointment of a “receiver or similar authority” to ensure that Minneapolis “properly trains and supervises its police officers.”
In the wake of Floyd’s killing, many civil rights protests erupted across the globe, calling for widespread police reform. The city of Minneapolis, among a handful of others, have agreed to reallocate funds usually reserved for law enforcement as a means to try and reinvest in lower-income communities. Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors called the decision a “massive” step forward. “This is the first time we are seeing, in our country’s history, a conversation about defunding, and some people having a conversation about abolishing the police and prison state.”
