Three Other Minneapolis Police Charged In George Floyd’s Murder, Chauvin’s Murder Charge Upgraded
Update June 3, 2020, 12:17 p.m. PST: Protests for justice for George Floyd have continued unabated for a week across the country. The protests are having an effect on the investigation into the murder of George Floyd and Attorney General Keith Ellison is pursuing more charges.
Senator Amy Klobuchar broke the news on Twitter about the new charges being filed in George Floyd’s death.
Sen. Klobuchar represents Minnesota and has received criticism over her tenure as the Hennepin County district attorney. Sen. Klobuchar did not seek charges against fired police officer Derek Chauvin in a 2006 police-involved shooting. Chauvin is the man seen in the video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck.
After a week of sustained and growing protests across the country, AG Ellison is upgrading Chauvin’s charges from third-degree murder to second-degree murder and the three other officers in the video will be charged with aiding and abating second-degree murder.
“This is a bittersweet moment for the family of George Floyd,” reads a statement by George Floyd’s family and their attorney Benjamin Crump in a joint statement. “We are deeply gratified that Attorney General Keith Ellison took decisive action in this case, arresting and charging all the officers involved in George Floyd’s death and upgrading the charge against Derek Chauvin to felony second-degree murder.”
Update June 1, 2020, 2:00 p.m. PST: An independent autopsy paid for by George Floyd’s family has found that he died as a result of asphyxiation. The announcement comes after days of unrest across the country that has attracted international attention and support.
An independent autopsy conducted at the request of George Floyd’s family claims that his death was a homicide.
According to multiple reports, an independent autopsy on George Floyd found that he died as a result of “homicide caused by asphyxia due to neck and back compression that led to a lack of blood flow to the brain.”
According to the autopsy conducted by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, Floyd died at the scene from the weight of the officers on top of him. His being handcuffed and his positioning on the ground by the cops contributed to his death.
“What we found is consistent with what people saw,” Dr. Baden said in an emailed release, according to HuffPost. “There is no other health issue that could cause or contribute to the death. Police have this false impression that if you can talk, you can breathe. That’s not true.”
Minneapolis officials have not released a full report on the medical examiner’s autopsy. However, officials have made it a point to say that there was no evidence that Floyd died of asphyxiation from the officer kneeling on his back and neck.
The country has witnessed ongoing protests since the video of Floyd’s death circulated on social media. Derek Chauvin, the police officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck, has been arrested and charged with Floyd’s death. Protesters are demanding that the three other officers, who have been fired, be arrested for assisting and contributing to Floyd’s death.
Original: George Floyd is the latest Black man killed by the police. The Minneapolis resident was allegedly trying to pass a counterfeit $20 when police were called. The resulting arrest and death were captured on video and have gone viral on social media. Stephen Jackson, one of Floyd’s closest friends is rallying support against the police officers responsible.
Fired police officer Derek Chauvin has been arrested for George Floyd’s death.
The news broke on the morning of May 29 the fired police officer Chauvin was arrested for Floyd’s death. Black leaders gathered at Minneapolis City Hall and cautiously celebrated the news of justice. Organizers and community members are not satisfied with one arrest. Protesters and organizers are calling for all of the officers involved in Floyd’s death to be arrested. He is being charged with thrid-degree murder and manslaughter.
Floyd’s arrested sparked national outrage and reignited the “I Can’t Breathe” protests. The death of Floyd reminded people or Eric Garner who told police he couldn’t breathe when he was killed in 2014.
Minneapolis has faced mounting pressure from around the country as protests have sprung up demanding justice. The nation has been watching images of Minneapolis on social media and news channels.
Stephen Jackson, a former NBA player and Floyd’s best friend, has taken to social media to grieve and organize.
Jackson took to Instagram when he first learned about Floyd’s death. Jackson shared that Floyd had moved to Minnesota to get his life back on track. Floyd was working as a truck driver and was changing his life, according to Jackson.
“This is what I’ve got to wake up to. This is what I’ve got to wake up to, huh? Floyd was my brother, man,” Jackson says in the video. “We called each other twin, bro. Everybody knows that me and Floyd called each other twin.”
Jackson adds: “My boy was doing what he was supposed to do and y’all killed my brother, man. I’m on my way to Minnesota, man. Whatever I can do. I can’t let this ride, dawg. Y’all not going to be mad until this hits your front door. It’s bullshit.”
The sentiment has been echoed by supporters of Floyd who are seeking justice.
Surveillance footage released from a restaurant where the arrest took place shows a different story than what was originally reported by the police. The police officers at the scene claimed that Floyd was resisting arrest and that that was when the officers attacked. According to released surveillance video, Floyd was not resisting arrest.
The four officers involved in the death have been fired from the Minneapolis Police Department, but people are demanding justice.
Protests have popped up across the country as people demand justice for Floyd’s death. Derek Chauvin, the police officer identified as the man who knelt on Floyd’s neck till he died, has 18 complaints against him for excessive force. Protesters are demanding the Chauvin face charges for the death of Floyd.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who ran for the Democratic nomination, has been called out for not filing charges against Chauvin in the past.
Chauvin has a long record of excessive force and Sen. Klobuchar seemingly ignored it. According to The Guardian, Chauvin was involved in a police shooting of an unarmed man in 2006. Sen. Klobuchar was the Hennepin county attorney at the time and did not bring charges against Chauvin for his involvement in the 2006 shooting. Instead, the case went to a grand jury in 2008 where it was determined that no charges would be brought against the officers involved.
As of now, there are no plans from the police department to bring charges against the four former officers.
Mike Freeman, Hennepin County’s current attorney, told the press that there was evidence that supported the police officers. Freeman said that while the video is graphic, there is evidence supporting that the police did not commit a crime in the arrest.
The mayor of Minneapolis is pushing to Hennepin county attorney Mike Freeman to file charges.
“There are precedents and protocols sitting in the reserves of institutions just like this one that will give you about a thousand reasons not to do something,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told the press. “Not to speak out. Not to act so quickly. And I’ve wrestled with, more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental question: ‘Why is the man who killed George Floyd, not in jail?’
Other Hennepin County officials have expressed a similar concern. The pressure is mounting on the Minneapolis Police Department to arrest the officers involved in Floyd’s death in the hope of seeking justice.
