After more than three days of protests and riots and nationwide outrage, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested in the death of George Floyd Friday afternoon.
He was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Anything less than murder would not have gone well with the protesters who last night stormed a police precinct, setting fire to it.
According to CBS Minnesota:
On Friday, John Harrington, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, announced that Chauvin has been taken into custody in connection with the May 25 death.
Chauvin is the former officer in the video seen around the world with his knee on Floyd’s neck. He’d been with Minneapolis police for 19 years.
It was not immediately clear what the expected charges Chauvin could face are. Answers will likely be provided by Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, as he has scheduled a press conference at 1 p.m. concerning a “major development” in the case.
Police initially said Floyd was resisting arrest and had a medical incident. However, video obtained by CBS News shows Floyd cooperating with officers, at least in the initial moments of the encounter.
A bystander’s video showed Floyd pleading that he could not breathe as a white officer — identified as Chauvin — knelt on his neck and kept his knee there for several minutes after Floyd stopped moving and became unresponsive.
The other officers involved were identified as Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng, both with the department for fewer than three years. All four officers were fired a day after Floyd’s death. As of yet, none of those three have been reported as having been taken into custody.
No word yet as to whether the accomplice cops are going to be charged as well.
UPDATE: Read the arrest report below.
