Faizel Patel – 29/05/2020
Photo: WFMZ
The fired US Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck has been charged with third-degree murder.
In the video, Derek Chauvin is seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck , a handcuffed black man who died in custody after pleading that he could not breathe.
Floyd gradually becomes motionless as Chauvin and three other officers ignore bystanders’ shouts to get off him.
Associated Press reports that Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Chauvin had been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, after the office gathered enough evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Freeman says the investigation continues into the other three officers, but that authorities “felt it appropriate to focus on the most dangerous perpetrator.”
He highlighted the “extraordinary speed” in charging the case just four days after Floyd’s death, but also defended himself against questions about why it did not happen sooner.
The charges come after three days of protests in Minneapolis escalated in violence on Thursday, when demonstrators torched a police station that officers had abandoned.
Meanwhile, former president Barack Obama said he shared the “anguish” of millions of Americans over the death of Floyd and that racism cannot be “normal” in the United States.
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