Calls for social justice, police reform continue 1 year after George Floyd's death

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Joyce Beatty called on the Senate to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in a new statement released Tuesday.

Beatty named other Black Americans who were killed by the police in the last couple of years, including Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo, Andre Hill, Casey Goodson Jr., Ma’Khia Bryant and Tamir Rice.

"Unfortunately, nothing will ever bring them back or undo the unimaginable heartache and loss their family, friends, and our communities have had to endure, but we can turn agony into action," Beatty said in a statement. "The American people are demanding change, transparency, accountability, and equal justice."

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison released a statement Tuesday stating that black people have been dying at the hands of police for the past century and the time for "meaningful change" is now.

"African American communities have been gaslit by people in authority for 100 years: they have been repeatedly told that state-sanctioned violence in their communities is their fault and that they are the criminals, not the ones committing the crimes against them," Ellison said. "But this time, the witnesses to George Floyd’s death and everyone in the world who watched their videos refused to be gaslit. They believed their eyes."

Ellison called on legislators on every level to break the cycle and for Americans of all backgrounds to end racism and white supremacy once and for all.

"For a century, and despite the best efforts of many, America has chosen inaction over climbing this mountain," Ellison said. "But the other side of this mountain is better — not only for African Americans, but for everyone."

-ABC News’ Whitney Lloyd

Shots were fired roughly one block away from what is informally known as George Floyd square, according to officials. A city spokesperson told ABC affiliate KSTP-TV in Minneapolis that one person was being treated for a gunshot wound at a local hospital. 

Philip Crowther, an Associated Press journalist, reported hearing as many as 30 gunshots about a block east of the intersection. He said a storefront window appeared to have been broken by a gunshot.

“Very quickly things got back to normal,” Crowther said.

The intersection is now a memorial to Floyd and a street festival was planned later Tuesday to mark the anniversary, the AP reported.

On the anniversary of Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, a New York appellate court will hear arguments on the need for a public inquiry into the 2014 death of Eric Garner, whose dying words "I can’t breathe," the same as Floyd’s, became a national rallying cry.

A lower court allowed for a judicial inquiry beginning in July, siding with the Racial Justice Project at New York Law School, which said the Garner family has endured "nearly seven years of false promises about transparency" from top city officials.

"It is difficult to conceive of a matter more worthy of transparency: a police killing of an unarmed civilian, preceded by a questionable stop, followed by inadequate medical treatment," the Racial Justice Project said in a filing to the Appellate Division.

The City of New York conceded Garner’s death “is of singular importance to his family, his community, the City, and indeed the nation” but is appealing to stop the inquiry because the incident has already been well-documented.

"There has already been a public trial covering seven days, 15 witnesses, and a thousand transcript pages," the city noted. 

-ABC News’ Aaron Katersky