Michael Orville Freeman (born May 7, 1948) is an American attorney and politician who served as the

county attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for

Hennepin County Hennepin County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,281,565, and was estimated to be 1,273,334 in 2024, making it the List of counties in ...

from 1991 to 1999 and again from 2007 to 2023. While in office, he was the official responsible overseeing several high-profile criminal cases of excessive police force, including several unlawful killings by law enforcement officers. Freeman filed criminal charges against

Derek Chauvin Derek Michael Chauvin ( ; born 1976) is an American former police officer who Murder of George Floyd, murdered George Floyd, a 46-year-old African Americans, African American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On May 25, 2020, Floyd was arrest ...

and three other Minneapolis police officers responsible for the

murder of George Floyd On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black American man, was murdered in Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old White police officer. Floyd had been arrested after a store clerk reported that he made a purchase using a c ...

in 2020, before the

Minnesota Attorney General The attorney general of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Thirty individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Keith Ellison, a Democratic-Farme ...

's office took over the case.

Early life and education

Freeman was raised and educated in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

before moving to the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

area when his father

Orville Freeman Orville Lothrop Freeman (May 9, 1918February 20, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 29th governor of Minnesota from 1955 to 1961, and as the U.S. secretary of agriculture from 1961 to 1969 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and L ...

joined the cabinet of President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

. He is a graduate of Maryland's

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School (B-CC) is a State school, public Secondary school, high school in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda, Maryland, Bethesda. Part of the Montgomery County Public Schools ...

. Freeman received a Bachelor of Arts from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

in 1970 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Minnesota Law School The University of Minnesota Law School is the law school of the University of Minnesota, a public university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school confers four law degrees: a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a Master of Laws (LL.M.), a Master of Science in Pa ...

in 1974. He is the son of Jane Shields and

, who was a Minnesota governor and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under presidents Kennedy and

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

. Freeman is married to journalist Kate McCarthy.

Career

A member of the

Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) is a political party in the U.S. state of Minnesota affiliated with the national Democratic Party. The party was formed by a merger between the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Minneso ...

, Freeman was elected to the

Minnesota Senate The Minnesota Senate is the upper house of the Minnesota Legislature, Legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota. At 67 members, half as many as the Minnesota House of Representatives, it is the largest upper house of any State legislature (Unite ...

in 1982, representing the old District 40, which included the city of Richfield and a portion of Bloomington in Hennepin County. He was re-elected in 1986, serving as Majority Whip during his second term (1987–1991). He was also vice chair of the Finance Committee from 1987 to 1991, and of the Economic Development and Commerce Committee from 1983 to 1986. He also chaired the Economic Development Subcommittee from 1983 to 1986. Freeman was elected Hennepin County Attorney in 1990, serving until 1999. He ran for county attorney again in 2006 after incumbent

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member o ...

opted to run for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

seat being vacated by

Mark Dayton Mark Brandt Dayton (born January 26, 1947) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Minnesota, 40th governor of Minnesota from 2011 to 2019. He served as a United States Senate, United States Senator representing Minneso ...

, and he was elected by a wide margin. Freeman ran twice for governor of Minnesota. In 1994 he lost the DFL Party endorsement to John Marty. Marty was later defeated in the general election by incumbent Governor Arne Carlson. In 1998 he won the DFL Party endorsement but lost the primary election to

Skip Humphrey Hubert Horatio "Skip" Humphrey III (born June 26, 1942) is an American retired politician who served as attorney general of the state of Minnesota (1983–1999) and State Senator (1973–1983). Humphrey led the Office of Older Americans as the as ...

, who went on to lose the general election to

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, political commentator, actor, media personality, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he ...

. In 2019, Freeman took a short leave of absence to enter a treatment program for alcohol addiction. On September 1, 2021, Freeman announced that he would retire at the end of his term after 24 years in the role.

Police brutality cases

As County Attorney, Freeman has dealt with several

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...

cases. He filed charges against Mohamed Noor for the shooting of Justine Damond, but declined to charge the officers involved in the shooting of Jamar Clark or the shooting of Thurman Blevins. Police body camera footage confirmed that Blevins had in fact fired gunshots at the officers before they returned fire.

Derek Chauvin case

In 2020, Freeman filed charges against officer

in the

. In the wake of the George Floyd killing, a group launched a petition drive to have Freeman recalled. On September 11, 2020, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill banned Freeman and three of his staffers from working on the cases against the former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's murder, including '' State v. Chauvin''. The ruling related to a meeting some staff lawyers had with the Hennepin County medical examiner, a likely witness in the case, which allegedly violated the rules of professional conduct for attorneys. Nevertheless, Freeman played a vital role in Minnesota Attorney General

Keith Ellison Keith Maurice Ellison (born August 4, 1963) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2019 as the 30th attorney general of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), Ellison was the U.S. representative for fr ...

's prosecution team that secured Chauvin's conviction on April 20, 2021, providing "strategic advice and coordination" to other Hennepin County attorneys who served on the team.

Other cases

CeCe McDonald case

Freeman was the prosecutor for noted black trans activist CeCe McDonald where she was prosecuted for manslaughter after stabbing a man with multiple violent felonies who had nazi tattoos. Freeman argued that the nazi tattoos were irrelevant and prejudicial. CeCe took a plea deal rather than face the possibility of a long jail term despite the fact that she and her advocates claim self defense.

References

External links

*
Hennepin County Attorney's Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Michael O. 1948 births Living people Politicians from Minneapolis Democratic Party Minnesota state senators American people of Norwegian descent American people of Swedish descent Rutgers University alumni University of Minnesota Law School alumni Lawyers from Minneapolis 20th-century members of the Minnesota Legislature 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers