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"The trend of individual officers to sidestep what minimal accountability exists, in order to more effectively and with greater impunity brutalize protesters for pretextual reasons, is unacceptable."The practice of police obscuring their badge numbers — a form of identification that many jurisdictions require officers to make available to the public when interacting — has taken on a heightened significance amid the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The protests have been met with a show of force from officers, sometimes veering into brutality, leaving the risk that those without visible identification are acting with the very impunity to commit violence that spurred the protests in the first place.

First appearances are typically procedural. But the hearing quickly turned contentious, with Lane's attorney, Earl Gray, arguing that the cases against the officers are weak and that they did nothing wrong. Gray said Lane twice asked if they should roll Floyd on side but that Chauvin said no. "What was he supposed to do... go up to Mr. Chauvin, grab him and throw him off?" Gray said.
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