A former Minnesota police officer who is facing murder charges for allegedly forcing his knee on George Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes reportedly used neck and upper body restraints during at least seven other arrests.
On Thursday, the Hennepin County District Attorney’s Office filed a notice of intent to offer additional evidence in their case against Derek Chauvin, 46. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing Floyd, 44, while arresting him on May 25.
The New York Times noted that Minneapolis banned neck restraints this summer in response to Floyd’s in-custody death.
In the court documents, prosecutors listed a total of eight instances in which Chauvin is accused of using excessive restraints to subdue an arrested suspect.
READ continuing coverage on the George Floyd case
During one of the instances, on April 22, 2016, prosecutors said Chauvin “restrained an arrested male by placing both of his hands around the male’s neck and applying pressure to both sides of the male’s neck.”
His alleged actions reportedly resulted in the man losing consciousness.
Prosecutors also detailed a September 4, 2017, incident in which Chauvin reportedly applied a neck restraint on a juvenile boy while flipping him on his stomach and pinning him to the ground.
And on July 7, 2019, Chauvin allegedly kicked an intoxicated man in the midsection before placing him in a neck restraint until he passed out. Prosecutors claimed Chauvin used the restraint “beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances.”
Minneapolis police officers were filmed arresting Floyd on suspicion that he used a counterfeit bill at the Cup Foods supermarket. After police pulled Floyd out of his car and handcuffed him, Chauvin forced his knee into Floyd’s neck for eight minutes. Floyd gasped for air and said he could not breathe before he lost consciousness and died.
While Hennepin County’s autopsy report stated that there was no evidence “to support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation,” an independent autopsy asserted that sustained forceful pressure on Floyd’s neck and back led to his death.
Chauvin is also facing charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence in connection with Floyd’s death. The other three arresting officers, Thomas Lane, 37, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Tou Thao, 34, were charged with aiding or abetting second-degree murder.
All four officers were fired in light of Floyd’s death.
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[Featured image: Derek Chauvin/Hennepin County jail; George Floyd/Facebook]
