The officer who pinned down George Floyd by the neck was taken into custody and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Derek Chauvin, the officer shown in a video that emerged online arresting and pinning Floyd with his knee, was taken into custody by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington announced Friday.
Hennepin County prosecutor Mike Freeman announced in a press conference that Chauvin, who has been fired from the department along with three other officers, was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
“We are in the process of continuing to review the evidence. There may be subsequent charges later,” Freeman said.
When asked about the other three officers involved in Floyd’s arrest, Freeman did not reveal details while stressing that the case is still open.
“We have never charged a case in that kind of time frame. And we can only charge a case when we have sufficient, admissible evidence to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. As of now, we have that,” Freeman said.
In a statement on Friday, Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department is separately conducting an investigation in conjunction with the FBI into whether civil rights laws were violated.
“The video images of the incident that ended with death of Mr. Floyd, while in custody of Minneapolis police officers, were harrowing to watch and deeply disturbing. The state prosecutor has been in the process of determining whether any criminal charges are appropriate under state law,” Barr said in a statement.
“On a separate and parallel track, the Department of Justice, including the FBI, are conducting an independent investigation to determine whether any federal civil rights laws were violated,” he added. “Both state and federal officers are working diligently and collaboratively to ensure that any available evidence relevant to these decisions is obtained as quickly as possible. Under our system, charging decisions must be, and will be, based on the law and facts. This process is proceeding quickly. As is the typical practice, the state’s charging decisions will be made first. I am confident justice will be served.”
Protests in the city of Minneapolis began Tuesday after the footage of Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, circulated on social media and eventually erupted into violence. Floyd was pinned by the neck for approximately eight minutes until he became unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
During a Friday press conference, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, demanded a stop to the looting, arson, and other crimes in his state after three consecutive days of chaotic protesting.
“My first and foremost responsibility to the state of Minnesota is the safety and security of all citizens. We can not have the looting, and the recklessness, that went on. We cannot have it because we can’t function as a society. And I refuse to have it take away the attention of the stain that we need to be working on, is what happened with those fundamental institutional racism that allows a man to be held down in broad daylight,” Walz said.
Walz said law enforcement would be present in the streets of the Twin Cities area to open up roads, maintain peace, and “heal what happened” by ensuring a swift, fair investigation into the officers involved in the events that led to Floyd’s death.
The four officers who arrested Floyd responded to a call from a grocery store claiming Floyd used a forged check to purchase items. Video released Thursday appears to show three officers pinning him down at one point.
All four officers involved have been fired from their positions in the police department.
One Minneapolis bar owner claimed that both Chauvin and Floyd worked as security guards for her business, describing Chauvin as having a “real short fuse.”
“He always resorted to pulling out his mace and pepper-spraying everybody right away, even when I felt it was unwarranted,” said bar owner Maya Santamaria. She also said she was unsure if they knew each other.
Documents show Chauvin was also internally reviewed by the Minneapolis Police Department more than 17 times for poor behavior during his 19 years as a law enforcement officer, with several instances of excessive force noted.
On Friday, President Trump reacted with anger at the state’s management of the disorder following Floyd’s death, calling participants of the violent riots “thugs” who are “dishonoring the memory of George Floyd.”
“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right,” Trump said in a pair of tweets. “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”
