Derek Chauvin, 3 ex-cops indicted for violating George Floyd’s civil rights
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Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers were indicted by a federal grand jury Friday on charges that they violated George Floyd’s civil rights.
A three-count indictment named Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Keung and Tou Thao. All four were charged with failure to provide Floyd, 46, with medical care as Chauvin pinned him to the ground for more than 9 minutes as a handcuffed Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe.
Chauvin, Thao and Keung were also charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force, according to the indictments.
Chauvin, who was convicted last month of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020, was also named in a second indictment for allegedly holding a 14-year-old boy by the throat and hitting him multiple times with a flashlight without legal justification during a 2017 arrest.
“Specifically, Defendant Chauvin held his knee on the neck and upper back of Juvenile 1 even after Juvenile 1 was lying prone, handcuffed and unresisting,” court documents read.
Lane, Thao and Kueng appeared in US District Court in Minneapolis. Chavin was not included in the videoconference appearance. He’s currently being held in a maximum-security prison as he awaits sentencing on June 16. He faces up to 40 years in prison, but under state sentencing guidelines, someone convicted of second-degree unintentional murder with no prior criminal record would face a presumptive sentence of 12½ years.
Chauvin’s attorney, meanwhile, has requested a new trial, insisting the guilty verdict was tainted by an “intimidated’ jury.
Lane, Thao and Keung, who remain free on bond, are set to face trial in August on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. They were allowed to remain out of custody following Friday’s court appearance.
Floyd died while handcuffed in custody for suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Cellphone footage of his death led to nationwide protests and calls for widespread police reform.
Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, did not comment on the federal charges Friday, the Associated Press reported.
With Post wires
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