Four days after publicly killing George Floyd, on Friday, May 29, Officer Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department was taken into police custody.
Chauvin was captured on camera with his knee across Floyd’s neck, as he pleaded for eight minutes and eventually died. Floyd was being detained for suspected forgery, but recent video showed that he complied fully with the police before being killed.
Chauvin’s actions were widely condemned nationwide, and the City of Minneapolis has seen three consecutive nights of protests in response.
Protests are spreading nationwide. New Orleans saw its first protest in support of George Floyd this morning at 10 a.m., at the corner of Claiborne and Esplanade Avenue. Another protest is scheduled for next Saturday, June 6, at City Putt, to begin at noon.
People gather on the corner of Esplanade Ave. and N. Claiborne Ave. to protest the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed black man who pleaded for air as a white police officer kneeled on his neck in Minneapolis. #nola #GeorgeFloydprotest pic.twitter.com/K0llBw1ITJ
— Max Becherer (@mlbecherer) May 29, 2020
Minneapolis police only allow the knee-to-neck tactic when suspects are resisting arrest or behaving violently, although in many jurisdictions, the method is banned outright due to the high risk of injury.
In Minnesota, a suspect may be arrested without an indictment. In order to make a warrantless arrest in Minnesota, a person must have committed a felony, and there must be reasonable cause to believe that the person being arrested has committed the felony.
In Minnesota, once an arrest has been made, the case must be presented to a grand jury within 14 days, who will then decide whether or not to indict the suspect.
While Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had assured the public that criminal charges would be filed, the Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said the police officers involved were not cooperating with the investigation and would be pleading the Fifth Amendment.
Those police officers involved include Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao – all of whom were fired shortly after the killing.
UPDATE: May 29 (1:35 p.m.) – Derek Chauvin has been charged with third degree murder and manslaughter. The other three officers remain under investigation.
