ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - No traffic is being allowed near the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Headquarters in downtown St. Louis on Tuesday. Concrete barricades have been set up possibly to prevent any damage being caused by violent protests, as we've seen happen in the wake of police killing Black men.
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The jury's verdict is looming in the trial of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murder in the death of George Floyd. The jury resumed deliberations Tuesday morning after closing arguments were given on Monday. A verdict has been reached and it's expected to be announced before 4 p.m. CT.
The St. Louis Police Headquarters are protected by concrete barricades on the east and west sides of the building on Olive Street.
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The building and other police buildings in the St. Louis area have been sites of violence by protesters in the past year. At the downtown headquarters, a chair was set on fire outside the front door as 100 protesters were gathered there following the decision not to charge Kentucky police officers for Breonna Taylor’s death in September. A St. Louis officer who went outside with a fire extinguisher had water bottles and other liquids thrown at them, police say.
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In past protests there have also been attempts to break into the St. Louis Police Headquarters downtown, police say.
In Minneapolis, more than 3,000 National Guard soldiers, along with police officers, state police, sheriffs deputies and other law enforcement personnel have flooded the city in recent days, with a verdict looming.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden made his first comments since the jury in the Derek Chauvin murder trial began deliberations, saying he is "praying the verdict is the right verdict."
Biden said he talked to members of George Floyd's family.
"They're calling for peace, and tranquility, no matter what that verdict is," Biden said.
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