Steve Schleicher, an attorney for the prosecution in Derek Chauvin's trial, began closing arguments on Monday by describing in detail George Floyd's last moments — crying out for help and surrounded by strangers, as Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd for nine minutes and 29 seconds.

Why it matters: The jury's verdict in Chauvin's murder trial, seen by advocates as one of the most crucial civil rights cases in decades, will reverberate across the country and have major implications in the fight for racial justice.

The city of Champlin, Minn., has spent more than $9,000 to erect a security perimeter protecting the home of Kim Potter, the former police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

What's happening: Photos posted to Twitter show cement barricades, fencing and officers stationed outside Potter's suburban Twin Cities home. She faces manslaughter charges in Wright's death.

Minneapolis is waking up to images of an occupied city on Monday, as the city and the world await a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.

What it's like: Residents running errands, picking up dinner and heading to the dog park in recent days encountered heavily-armed National Guard troops stationed throughout the city.

The family of Tamir Rice, the Black 12-year-old fatally shot by a Cleveland police officer in 2014, is asking President Biden's Justice Department to reopen the federal probe into his death.

Why it matters: Former Officer Timothy Loehmann, who shot and killed Rice, never faced charges. The Rice family's request comes amid outrage over the police killing of Daunte Wright earlier this week, Derek Chauvin's ongoing trial and the release of footage on Thursday showing the police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago.

Florida state lawmakers sent a bill that stiffens penalties against violent protesters to Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) desk on Thursday, according to AP.

Why it matters: Opponents say the bill seeks to curtail the Black Lives Matter movement and the right to free speech and peaceably assemble. It comes amid the ongoing trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd, which set off waves of protests across the country last summer.

Derek Chauvin's defense team rested its case Thursday after the former Minneapolis police officer said that he would not testify at his murder trial, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

Why it matters: The impact of the Derek Chauvin trial, seen by advocates as one of the most crucial civil rights cases in decades, is reverberating across the country. Closing arguments are expected by April 19.

Ongoing protests over Daunte Wright's death have renewed debate over the tactics police use to control crowds and respond to civil unrest.

Driving the news: Hundreds of demonstrators gathered for a fourth straight night in Brooklyn Center Wednesday. Law enforcement used flash-bang grenades and pepper balls to disperse the crowd as a 10 p.m. curfew set in.

• Unlike in recent nights, however, tear gas was not used, The Star Tribune reports.

The state of play: Law enforcement officials say the tactics are necessary to restore order and protect residents and property when peaceful protests begin to devolve, but activists in Minnesota and beyond say the "militarized" response is overly aggressive, dangerous and actually risks inciting more violence.

Kim Potter, the former police officer charged with second-degree manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, was released on a $100,000 bond on Wednesday, Hennepin County jail records show.

Why it matters: Sunday's shooting of the 20-year-old Black man in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, just 10 miles from where George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last year, has reinvigorated Black Lives Matter protests and led to three consecutive nights of unrest.

Morries Hall, one of the passengers in George Floyd's car before his arrest, will not testify in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin after being permitted to invoke his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Why it matters: The presiding judge denied the defense's subpoena of Hall, thwarting their hopes of shedding more light on Floyd's past drug use. Chauvin's lawyers have sought to argue that Floyd's opioid use may have contributed to heart failure and ultimately his death.

Rusten Sheskey, the police officer who shot Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last year, is back on duty and won't face disciplinary action, Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said Tuesday.

The big picture: Kenosha was at the center of protests against police brutality after Sheskey, a white law enforcement officer, shot and wounded Blake, a Black man, on Aug. 23, 2020. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley announced in January that the officers involved in last summer's incident would not face charges.