Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis white cop who kneeled on George Floyd’s neck, charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Minneapolis| On Friday afternoon, the cop, Derek Chauvin, filmed on video kneeling on the neck of 46-year-old George Floyd as he begged for his life, was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Chauvin, a 19-year veteran, has been taken into custody by the state’s bureau of criminal apprehension.
The Hennepin county attorney, Mike Freeman, said: “We are in the process of continuing to review the evidence. There may be additional charges later.”
State charging documents allege that the now-former Minneapolis cop kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for a total of nearly nine minutes, including two minutes and 43 seconds after Gorge Floyd became unconscious, as per law enforcement review of the body-cam video.
George Floyd’s death has prompted days of protests in Minneapolis and other US cities, sometimes violent, over police brutality against black people.
So far, hundreds of shops have been destroyed and a police station set on fire.
Late on Thursday, officers abandoned the building in the city of Minneapolis before protesters barged through fences, breaking windows and chanting slogans. A fire broke out, which soon became an inferno that submerged the building.
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On Friday, the protests entered their fourth day and have spread beyond Minnesota, with protests breaking out in several states across the country, including Denver, Colorado Phoenix & New York.
One night after Minneapolis Police’s 3rd Precinct building was overtaken and burned down, protesters assembled at the 5th Precinct building late Friday night, placed about four miles west.
Gorge Floyd’s family had demanded the police officers present when he was killed be charged murder charges. All of the officers have been fired.
(Inputs from Agencies)
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