City officials hold final security briefing before scheduled start of Chauvin trial

Minneapolis city leaders held their last security briefing ahead of Monday, when the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin is scheduled to begin.

Chauvin was charged in connection to the fatal arrest of George Floyd that occurred last May.

An estimated $645,000 has been spent on security fencing around government buildings in Minneapolis, according to city officials.

"Some in our community may find some of the environmental structures that they see — barricades, barriers and fences — perhaps a little bit daunting," Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said. "But as we saw in the events of Jan. 6, that is that preventative tool that we have to consider and we have to look at."

The events in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 opened law enforcement’s eyes to the need to communicate with area agencies, Arradondo said.

Security measures take shape days before jury selection scheduled to begin in Derek Chauvin trial

There is a unified command post that will connect officers from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies.

The mutual aid effort, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, has been a concern raised to him by residents.

"We’re hearing several common themes," Frey said. "One of them is concern over this question of additional law enforcement and mutual aid. How those additional law enforcement and mutual aid will be interfacing with peaceful protestors."

During the briefing at City Hall, Arradondo said some of those outside officers have received new specialized de-escalation training.

There will be a “robust” law enforcement presence during key moments of the trial, Frey said.

Jury selection is scheduled to start Monday morning.

Opening statements in the case are not scheduled to begin until March 29.