A federal grand jury has indicted four officers involved in the death of George Floyd. Floyd, who had been detained for allegedly attempting to pass a counterfeit bill, died as a result of the arresting officer , Derek Chauvin, kneeling forcibly on his neck for a total of nine minutes. Last month, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder in Floyd’s death, in a rare instance of criminal justice.
The other three officers Involved in the incident were Thou Thao, Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane, each of whom stood by and did nothing while Chauvin unnecessarily knelt on Floyd’s neck, while witnesses filmed the encounter. The footage immediately went viral on social media, resulting in a public outcry for justice, which lead to world-wide protests. Chauvin was not arrested until approximately a week had past.
The indictment charges that Chauvin had used “unconstitutional and unreasonable” force resulting in George Floyd’s death. Kueng and Thao were charged with failing to prevent Chauvin from exerting unreasonable force in an unwarranted situation. Floyd had been denied his Constitutional right to be free from indifference pertaining to medical needs.
Chauvin was also charged with a second indictment involving an incident in 2017 when he allegedly deprived a teenager of his civil rights. In that incident he is accused of grabbing the victim by the throat and bashing his head in with a flashlight. Of that incident Chauvin wrote that the teenager was resisting arrest, was 6-2 and 240 pnds, was also face down while handcuffed.
The other three were previously arrested on state charges pertaining to the case last June, and are currently out on bail awaiting trial at the end of August.
Sources: NY Times, Associated Press, The Week.
The Weekly News 