Former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, the first Black police chief of the city, sat down for a portrait at the East Lake Library in Minneapolis on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. The portrait captures a moment in time for Arradondo, who vividly recalls the night he received a call from a community activist urging him to watch a video circulating on social media. The video depicted a white officer, Derek Chauvin, pinning a Black man, George Floyd, to the ground as he pleaded, “I can’t breathe.”
Arradondo, now 58 years old, was deeply affected by what he saw in the video, which conflicted with the initial reports he received from his own department about the tragic encounter. He knew then that changes were imminent for the Minneapolis Police Department and the city, but he could not have predicted the profound impact that Floyd’s death would have on the United States and beyond. Reflecting on his 32 years of service, Arradondo considers May 25, 2020, as a defining moment in his public service career.
The video of Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes outside a convenience store, despite pleas from bystanders to stop, sparked outrage and led to widespread protests and unrest in Minneapolis. Arradondo, in an interview at the damaged library on Lake Street, where the pain and anger of the past still linger, expressed his support for the decision to evacuate the Third Precinct during the riots. He emphasized the priority of keeping people safe during the unprecedented crisis, even if it meant letting the precinct burn. Despite facing resistance from within the department and the police union, Arradondo spearheaded efforts to reform policing in Minneapolis, including testifying against Chauvin in his murder trial.
As he reflects on the progress made in police accountability in the five years since Floyd’s death, Arradondo acknowledges that more could have been done to address the toxic culture within the police department prior to the tragic incident. In his recently published book, “Chief Rondo: Securing Justice for the Murder of George Floyd,” Arradondo delves into the complexities of leadership, justice, and race in the context of policing. He dedicates a letter in the book to Floyd’s daughter, Gianna, expressing his remorse for her father’s untimely death and his commitment to seeking justice on his behalf. While the former officers involved in Floyd’s death have yet to apologize to Gianna, Arradondo’s words serve as a heartfelt gesture of empathy and accountability.
