By SARAH HORNER | shorner@pioneerpress.com and DAVE ORRICK | dorrick@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press
The Minneapolis police officer involved in the death of George Floyd was charged Friday with third-degree murder and manslaughter in this death.
The Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said his office made the charging decision as fast as he could, and that additional or more severe charges could be forth coming as the case continues to be investigated.
The other three officers who were at the scene have not yet been charged, but Freeman said he expects those charges will be forthcoming. He did not say what kind of charges are being considered for those officers.
All four offices have been fired from the police department.
Officer Derek Chauvin was seen on bystander video pinning Floyd to the ground with his knee to his neck for several minutes after Floyd allegedly tried to pass a counterfeit $20 bill at a gas station near 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis this past Monday.
Floyd is seen handcuffed and lying face-down while he pleads with Chauvin repeatedly saying: “Please. I can’t breathe,” as the officer remains with his knee on his neck until Flody appears to limp and medics arrive.
The charges filed Friday against Floyd are the same was those that were filed against former Minnepaolis police officer Mohamed Noor in the death of Justine Damond in 2017. Though in that case, it took several months for charging decisions to arrive.
That case lacked the bystander video that this one has, Freeman said, and other crucial evidence.
He added that he was not “insensitive” to the riots and protests that have caused looting, fires and chaos across the Twin Cities since Floyd’ death, but said his charging decision came when the evidence warranted it.
“We have now been able to put together the evidence we need. Even as late as yesterday afternoon we didn’t have all we needed. we have now found it and we felt the responsibility to charge it as soon (as we could),” Freeman said.
Included in the critical evidence to date is the bystander video, body-camera footage worn by officers at the scene, statements from witnesses and the preliminary findings produced by the medical examiner about the cause and manner of Floyd’s death. Chauvin was taken into custody by the BCA earlier Friday.
Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington announced Chauvin’s arrest on Friday following a news conference with Gov. Tim Walz. Harrington said he learned of the arrest as he was walking out of the earlier media briefing. Reporters were re-summoned, and Harrington made a brief statement.
Harrington offered no details of the fate of three other Minneapolis officers, who were fired along with Chauvin on Tuesday.
During the news conference, Harrington, a former cop and St. Paul police chief, described Floyd’s death as “murder.”
“We’ll call it a murder,” he said. “That’s what it looked like to me.”
Feature photo: A mural depicting George Floyd in Minneapolis on Thursday, May 28, 2020. Police departments have tried to ban or severely limit the use of neck restraints — but, in Minneapolis, a knee pressing on a neck for eight minutes led to a man’s death. (Jenn Ackerman/The New York Times)
https://www.twincities.com/2020/05/29/minneapolis-officer-in-george-floyds-death-under-arrest
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