Minneapolis braces for Chauvin trial verdict

Stores are shuttered and residents are anxiously awaiting a trial verdict some worry could re-ignite large and potentially unruly protests.

This report produced by Zachary Goelman.

The Minnesota National Guard appeared on street corners in downtown Minneapolis over the weekend.

The deployment comes as the city braces for a verdict in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, accused of killing 46-year-old George Floyd last year.

Jury deliberations are expected to begin this week.

Floyd’s death touched off widespread protests, riots, looting and arson here and local businesses are worried the end of trial could bring new unrest.

The owner of a Minneapolis steak and sushi restaurant told a local TV reporter he was glad to see the National Guard out in force.

“If people are assaulted who is going to stop the criminals?

If we don't have police or national guard or anybody else you have a real problem.” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said police and guardsmen would try and protect both peaceful protesters and private property.

"Amongst those peaceful protestors there's folks that are willing to shoot at police, burn buildings, do those things, and we're trying to strike that proper balance.” Local residents are eager for the trial to be over, and for the city to move one.

“I’m sick of cops doing the things they do, and I’m sick of destroying buildings.” On a more optimistic note, local artists have turned storefronts, boarded up against protests, into murals for progress.

Simone Alexa said she needed to express herself after the recent police shooting of Daunte Wright.

“It made me sick, like I couldn’t sleep." Twenty-year-old Wright was killed earlier this month during a traffic stop in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Center.

Like George Floyd, he was unarmed.

"It wasn’t until I started planning these murals and just planning on doing something that I felt like I could get some rest.

And I think that energy really transfers from me into the piece, and other people can feel that too when they see it.”