Derek Chauvin “had his knee on [George] Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds,” the criminal complaint against the now-fired Minneapolis police officer says. “Two minutes and 53 seconds of this was after Mr Floyd was non-responsive,” the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.
Floyd, 46, died Monday after Chauvin and three other Minneapolis officers arrested him on suspicion of attempting to use counterfeit money at Cup Foods, as CrimeOnline previously reported. Officers reportedly pulled Floyd from his car before handcuffing him and forcing him onto the ground.
Chauvin, 44, was arrested on Friday, charged with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said charges would likely follow for the other three officers, but he felt it was important to charge Chauvin first.
“We felt it was important to focus on the most dangerous perpetrator,” he said. “I must say this case has moved with extraordinary speed.”
The video showing Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck as he repeatedly says he can’t breathe prompted protests in Minneapolis that have since spread across the country, some of them becoming violent. The protesters were demanding Chauvin’s arrest, but Freeman delayed, saying “that it is critical to review all the evidence because at the time of trial, invariably, all that information will be used.”
According to the complaint, an autopsy on Floyd found “no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation” and revealed “underlying health conditions including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease.”
But, the report also says that police training stresses that restraining a suspect the way Chauvin restrained Floyd “with a subject in a prone position is inherently dangerous.” An officer checked Floyd for a pulse about two minutes after Chauvin moved his knee, the report said, but “couldn’t find one.”
Floyd arrived at the hospital with no pulse, and medics worked to revive him for about an hour before pronouncing him dead.
Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, representing Floyd’s family said the charges were “a welcome but overdue step on the road to justice.” He also called for a revision of the charges “to reflect the culpability of this officer” as well as charges against the other officers “who did nothing to protect the life of George Floyd.”
Minneapolis police have identified the other three officers involved in Floyd’s arrest as Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J. Alexander Kueng. They have also been fired.
This is a developing story. Check back with CrimeOnline for updates as they become available.
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[Featured image: George Floyd/Facebook]
