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The police officer who pressed his knee against George Floyd’s neck has been charged by prosecutors with the more serious offense of second-degree murder on Wednesday, while charges have also been brought against three other officers who were at the scene.
The killing on May 25 in Minneapolis was video recorded on a bystander’s cell phone, leading to protests against police brutality and racism across the US, before demonstrations spread around the world.
Read more: Germany ‘shocked’ by George Floyd killing, calls for end to violence
The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired a day after the incident and initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three other officers involved were also fired but were not charged until Wednesday.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison brought forward the more serious charge against Chauvin, while also charging Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Ellison called the protests sparked by the death as “dramatic and necessary” and said Floyd “should be here and he is not. His life had value, and we will seek justice.”
Floyd’s family and protesters have repeatedly demanded criminal charges against all four officers, as well as more severe charges for Chauvin who, a little over a week ago, pressed Floyd’s neck to the ground with his knee for almost nine minutes, despite protests from the victim that he couldn’t breathe.
An official autopsy has confirmed Floyd’s death to be the result of homicide.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
‘I can’t breathe’
Tense protests over decades of police brutality against black people have quickly spread from Minneapolis to cities across the US. The protests began in the Midwestern city earlier this week, after a police officer handcuffed and pressed a knee on the neck of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, until he stopped breathing and died.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
A ‘gentle giant’
Floyd grew up in Houston, Texas, and moved to Minneapolis in 2014 for work. Before his death, he was looking for work after having been laid off from his job as a security guard at a Latin bistro due to Minnesota’s stay-at-home coronavirus restrictions. Standing 6 feet, 6 inches (1.98 meters) tall, his friends described him as a “gentle giant.”
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
From peaceful to violent
Protests were mostly peaceful on Saturday, though some became violent as the night wore on. In Washington, D.C., the National Guard was deployed outside the White House. At least one person died in shootings in downtown Indianapolis; police said no officers were involved. Officers were injured in Philadelphia, while in New York two NYPD vehicles lurched into a crowd, knocking people to the ground.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
Shops destroyed, looted
In Los Angeles, protesters faced off with officers with shouts of “Black Lives Matter!” as police confronted crowds with batons and rubber bullets. In some cities including LA, Atlanta, New York, Chicago and Minneapolis, protests have turned into riots, with people looting and destroying local shops and businesses.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
‘When the looting starts…’
President Donald Trump has threatened to send in the military to quell the protests, saying his “administration will stop mob violence and will stop it cold.” Trump’s response has inflamed tensions across the country. He blamed the rioting on alleged far-left groups, but Minnesota Governor Tim Walz told reporters he had heard multiple unconfirmed reports of white supremacists stoking the violence.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
Media in the crosshairs
Many journalists covering the protests have found themselves targeted by law enforcement. On Friday, CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez and his crew were arrested while covering the story in Minneapolis, and several reporters have been hit with projectiles or detained while on air. DW’s Stefan Simons was fired at by police twice as he reported on the unrest over the weekend.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
Going global
North of the US border, in Canada, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Vancouver and Toronto. In Berlin, American expats and other demonstrators gathered outside the US Embassy. In London, protesters kneeled in Trafalgar Square before marching past the Houses of Parliament and stopping at the British capital’s US Embassy.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
At Trump’s front door
Protests raged in the US capital, Washington, after the district began its 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on Sunday. More than 1,000 demonstrators gathered in Lafayette Park, across from the White House, with some lighting fires outside the president’s residence. The New York Times reported that Secret Service had brought Trump into a bunker as a safety precaution.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
Curfews in major US cities
Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Detroit, Washington D.C. and other US cities extended curfews as protests entered a sixth night on Sunday. The state of Arizona in the west instituted a statewide, weeklong curfew after demonstrators clashed with police. Around 5,000 troops from the National Guard also have been deployed in 15 US states.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
Trump threatens to bring in US military
In the face of renewed protests on Monday, Trump threatened to deploy the military if states failed to “defend their residents.” As he made his remarks, security authorities used tear gas and rubber bullets to force protesters from nearby Lafayette Park. Trump then walked from his residence to a church in the park, where he held a Bible aloft during a photo opportunity.
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In pictures: US protests over George Floyd, police killings rage in dozens of cities
Peaceful demonstrations
Many protests in the US have remained peaceful, with groups of demonstrators standing together against police brutality. In Manhattan’s Times Square on Monday, protesters lay on the ground with their hands behind their back, mimicking the position Floyd was in when he was killed. Though some people have resorted to violence, several US mayors and governors have praised the protests.
jsi/stb (AP, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/george-floyd-killing-prosecutors-charge-3-more-police-officers/a-53676295?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf