In efforts to throw out a defamation lawsuit filed by a top police commander against the creators of “The Fall of Minneapolis,” dozens of former Minneapolis police officers filed sworn declarations this week saying former officer Derek Chauvin followed training protocol when he pinned his knee on George Floyd’s neck and killed him in 2020.
The declarations are attached to a lengthy memorandum filed by attorney Chris Madel in Hennepin County District Court on behalf of Liz Collin, Alpha News, Dr. J.C. Chaix and White Birch Publishing. The defendants were sued for defamation in October by Katie Blackwell, the MPD’s assistant chief of operations and No. 2 officer.
Blackwell’s suit argued the defendants knowingly defamed her by questioning the honesty of her testimony at Chauvin’s criminal trial in the book, “They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and the Death of George Floyd,” and manipulating her testimony on departmental training of restraint techniques in the film “The Fall of Minneapolis.”
Blackwell alleges their actions harmed her reputation and clouded her career prospects.
Madel’s memo asks Judge Edward Wahl to dismiss Blackwell’s lawsuit and make her pay the defendants’ attorney fees.
“If you call any of my friends a liar, you’d better have proof,” Madel told the Minnesota Star Tribune regarding his memo.
The 99-page memo and attached declarations present an argument on two fronts in seeking the lawsuit’s dismissal: That the book and film are protected under Minnesota’s new Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, which concerns freedom of speech around matters of public concern; and that every statement Blackwell claims is defamatory is true.
“The First Amendment is essential because it guarantees United States citizens’ right to expose governmental misconduct,” the memo reads. “These ideals become even more important when reporters expose senior law-enforcement officers’ attempts to shift responsibility to, and scapegoat, rank-and-file officers. Such is the case here.”