George Floyd death: Fired police officer Derek Chauvin charged with murder over Minnesota killing
Fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was captured on camera kneeling on the neck of George Floyd moments before his death, has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
He was arrested four days after that fatal encounter, Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman announced on Friday.
On Thursday, the US Department of Justice revealed that an investigation into the killing of Mr Floyd has become a "top priority" as protests and riots erupted in the wake of his death and the officers' dismissal from the force, with demonstrations demanding that the officers involved be arrested for murder.
Federal agents have opened an investigation to determine whether there was a "willful violation of federal civil rights" while officials including Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey have have urged that authorities seek criminal charges against Mr Chauvin, a white officer, for the death of Mr Floyd, black man, while he was handcuffed and complained that he wasn't able to breathe.
The Minneapolis Police Department has identified that the other fired officers are Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng.
Reports have revealed that Mr Chauvin — who was on the force for nearly 20 years — has been the subject of more than a dozen complaints filed to the department's Internal Affairs Division, though only two of those complaints were resolved "with discipline".
In 2008, he shot a man who allegedly tried to reach for his gun, according to reports. He also was on the scene of several other police shootings in his career.
Police initially reported that Mr Floyd had resisted arrest and died following a "medical" incident, though video from the scene shows that he cooperated with arresting officers and cried out "I can't breathe" as Mr Chauvin was kneeling on his neck for several minutes before he was unresponsive.
During another night of protests in the wake of Mr Floyd's killing, a police precinct was engulfed in flames on Thursday, following pleas from officials for "peace" as law enforcement had yet to announce whether the officers involved with his death would be held responsible, or whether the department had authorised that use of force.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activated the National Guard on Thursday and an urged residents and police to "restore order" before authorities can "can start addressing the issues, before we turn back to where we should be spending our energy: making sure justice is served", he said.
"What the world has witnessed since the killing of George Floyd on Monday has been a visceral pain, a community trying to understand who we are and where we go from here," he said.
The governor said that the arrests of CNN crew covering the protests early on Friday was "inexcusable" after State Police officers were captured arresting the crew live on air.
"I take full responsibility," Governor Walz said.
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