Minneapolis cop who knelt on man arrested.
Derek Chauvin charged with third-degree murder
MINNEAPOLIS – The white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck was arrested on murder charges Friday and accused in court papers of ignoring another officer’s concerns about the handcuffed black man who died after pleading that he could not breathe.
Derek Chauvin, 44, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the case, which sparked protests across the United States and fires and looting in Minneapolis. An attorney for Floyd’s family welcomed the arrest but said he expected a more serious murder charge and wanted all the officers arrested.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said more charges were possible. He said the investigation into the other three officers continues, but authorities “felt it appropriate to focus on the most dangerous perpetrator.”
Chauvin allegedly disregarded the worries of the other officer, who wanted to roll Floyd onto his side, according to the criminal complaint.
The papers also said that an autopsy revealed nothing to support strangulation as the cause of death. The exam concluded that the combined effects of being restrained, potential intoxicants in Floyd’s system and his underlying health issues, including heart disease, likely contributed to his death, according to the complaint. Floyd’s family was seeking an independent autopsy.
Police were trying to put Floyd in a squad car on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill when he stiffened up and fell to the ground, saying he was claustrophobic. Chauvin and Officer Tou Thoa arrived to help and tried several times to get Floyd into the car, but he struggled, the complaint said.
In all, Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes, 46 seconds, including nearly three minutes after Floyd stopped moving and talking, according to the complaint.
Chauvin’s attorney had no comment when reached by The Associated Press.
All four officers who were at the scene of Floyd’s death on Monday were fired the next day.
It was not immediately clear whether Chauvin’s arrest would quiet the unrest. Thursday night, demonstrators torched a Minneapolis police station that officers had abandoned.
News of the arrest came moments after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged the “abject failure” of the response to the protests and called for swift justice for officers involved. Walz said the state has taken over the response to the violence and that it’s time to show respect and dignity to those who are suffering.
“Minneapolis and St. Paul are on fire. The fire is still smoldering in our streets. The ashes are symbolic of decades and generations of pain, of anguish unheard,” Walz said. “Now generations of pain is manifesting itself in front of the world – and the world is watching.”
On Friday morning, nearly every building in the shopping district around the abandoned police station had been vandalized, burned or looted. National Guard members were in the area, with several of them lined up, keeping people away from the police station. Dozens of volunteers swept up broken glass in the street.
Dean Hanson, 64, lives in a subsidized housing unit nearby, which is home to many older residents. He said his building lost electricity overnight, and residents were terrified as they watched mobs of people run around their neighborhood, with no apparent intervention.
“I can’t believe this here,” he said.
Dozens of fires were also set in nearby St. Paul, where nearly 200 businesses were damaged or looted. Protests spread across the U.S., fueled by outrage over Floyd’s death, and years of violence against African Americans at the hands of police. Demonstrators clashed with officers in New York and blocked traffic in Columbus, Ohio, and Denver.
A visibly tired and frustrated Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey took responsibility for evacuating the police precinct, saying it had become too dangerous for officers.
Attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Floyd’s family, said Chauvin’s arrest was “a welcome but overdue step on the road to justice.”
Crump had earlier called for an independent investigation, and said he asked to take custody of Floyd’s body to have an independent autopsy performed.
State and federal authorities are also investigating Floyd’s death.
The owner of a popular Latin nightclub said that Floyd and Chauvin both worked as security guards at the club as recently as the end of last year, but it’s not clear whether they worked together. Chauvin worked at the El Nuevo Rodeo club as an off-duty security guard for nearly two decades, but Floyd had only worked there more recently for about a dozen events that featured African American music, Maya Santamaria said.
Santamaria said that if Chauvin had recognized Floyd, “he might have given him a little more mercy.”
Santamaria, who sold the venue within the past two months, said Chauvin got along well with the regular Latino customers, but did not like to work the African American nights. When he did, and there was a fight, he would spray people with mace and call for police backup and half-dozen squad cars would soon show up, something she felt was unjustified “overkill.”
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People protesting the death of George Floyd demonstrate outside a burning fast food restaurant Friday in Minneapolis. JOHN MINCHILLO/AP