The US police officer, Derek Chauvin, who knelt on the neck of George Floyd, leading to his death, has reportedly been charged with murder.
Chauvin was a Minnesota police officer and committed the killing in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.
US prosecutors have charged him with 3rd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter, and according to the complaint he created “an unreasonable risk and taking a chance of causing death or great bodily harm to George Floyd.”
The D.A. announced the charges Friday and said Chauvin is in custody, but the other three officers are still under investigation and no charges have been filed … at least not yet.
Reports indicate that an officer approached George Floyd’s car and ordered him out at gunpoint, claiming he passed counterfeit currency.
Once Floyd put his hands on the steering wheel, the cop holstered his gun, reports say.
The complaint document noted that George “actively resisted being handcuffed.”
Once in cuffs, however, he became compliant, according to the complaint document.
The complaint is based, in part, on the various body cam videos the D.A. reviewed. Cops told George he was being arrested for passing bogus money, and then walked him across the street to a squad car, where George “stiffened up, fell to the ground, and told the officers he was claustrophobic.”
At that point, according to the complaint, Chauvin arrives on scene in his squad car. According to the complaint, cops made several attempts to get George in the back of the squad car, but he would not voluntarily go and struggled.
While standing outside the car, George repeatedly said he could not breathe. This is before Chauvin put his knee on George’s neck.
At 8:19 pm, Chauvin pulled George out of the squad car and Floyd went to the ground, handcuffed. There are two other officers on George’s back and legs — you can’t see them in the video, but this is the moment when Chauvin placed his left knee on George’s neck, reports say.
There have been unrests across the US over the killing, with the Minneapolis building being set on fire. Over 40 people including a CNN reporter were arrested in New York during protests over the killing.
By Melvin Tarlue