Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer who is arguably a heavily vilified man in America after he was seen on camera kneeling on the neck of the late George Floyd, has now been arrested for his murder.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced on Friday afternoon that Chauvin had been charged with 3rd degree murder and manslaughter, according to Fox News, adding that evidence against him included footage from a bystander’s cell phone and body camera footage as well as statements from witnesses.
“We felt in our professional judgment that it was time to charge and we have so done it,” Freeman said. He went on to add that he expects additional charges to be filed against the three other officers who were involved in Monday’s fatal incident, but he would not go into any further detail on that.
“We have now been able to put together the evidence that we need. Even as late as yesterday afternoon, we did not have all that we needed,” Freeman continued. “This is by far the fastest that we’ve ever charged a police officer.”
BREAKING – MPD Officer Derek Chauvin has been arrested in the death of #GeorgeFloyd.
I am at a news conference in Minneapolis City Hall with black leaders in Minnesota and friends of George Floyd. They found out the news in the moment and this is their response. #WCCO pic.twitter.com/JNOE2zm1IG— Marielle Mohs (@MarielleMohs) May 29, 2020
Floyd died in police custody on Monday night, and video footage quickly went viral afterwards showing Chauvin kneeling on his neck as he struggled to breath. Chauvin and the other three officers involved, who have been identified as Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng, were all fired the day after Floyd’s death.
Police officer Derek Chauvin has been arrested and is in custody for the murder of George Floyd. The first step towards justice.
— Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) May 29, 2020
Since Floyd’s death, all Hell has broken loose, as violent riots have broken out in Minneapolis and other cities across the country. We can only hope that the arrest of Chauvin serves to calm things down a bit and bring about the healing process for everyone involved after this tragic incident.
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