Four ex-cops indicted on U.S. civil rights charges in George Floyd
killing
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[May 08, 2021]
By Gabriella Borter and Jan Wolfe
(Reuters) - Four former Minneapolis police
officers face federal civil rights charges for their role in the arrest
and murder of George Floyd, according to court documents unsealed on
Friday, showing the Justice Department's tougher stance in such cases.
A federal grand jury in Minneapolis on Thursday issued a three-count
indictment charging Derek Chauvin - the white former officer convicted
in Minnesota state court of murdering Floyd - and three fellow former
officers of violating his constitutional rights, including his right to
have his medical needs attended to.
"The defendants saw George Floyd lying on the ground in clear need of
medical care, and willfully failed to aid Floyd," the indictment says.
Also charged were Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane.
Attorneys for the four men did not respond to messages seeking comment
on the charges.
Thao, Kueng and Lane appeared with their lawyers in federal court in
Minneapolis on Friday by video. All three were released on $25,000 bond.
Chauvin, who is awaiting a June 25 sentencing hearing on his state
convictions, remains in custody.
In a separate federal indictment unsealed on Friday, Chauvin was also
charged with violating the rights of a 14-year-old boy during an arrest
in September 2017. Chauvin is accused of holding the teen by the neck
and hitting him with a flashlight.
The charges were the latest sign the Department of Justice under new
Democratic President Joe Biden is taking a harder line against police
abuses, a role that civil rights advocates say the department neglected
during Republican Donald Trump's administration.
In a confrontation captured on video, Chauvin pushed his knee into
Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020, as he and the
three other officers arrested the 46-year-old Black man. Floyd, who was
in handcuffs, had been accused of using a fake $20 bill to buy
cigarettes at a grocery store.
His death prompted protests against racism and police brutality last
year in many cities across the United States and around the world, and
reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement.
Chauvin was convicted of state murder charges last month. His lawyers on
Tuesday requested a new trial, saying there was prosecutorial and jury
misconduct and errors of law at trial and that the verdict was contrary
to the law.
The federal indictment against the four former officers charged them
with depriving Floyd of his liberty and showing "deliberate indifference
to his serious medical needs."
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This video contains graphic content. Four former Minneapolis police
officers face federal civil rights charges for their role in the
arrest and murder of George Floyd, according to court documents
unsealed on Friday, showing the Justice Department's tougher stance
in such cases. Freddie Joyner has more
Thao, Kueng and Lane - all of whom were fired and
arrested days after Floyd's death - also face state charges at a
trial set for Aug. 23 that they aided and abetted the second-degree
murder and second-degree manslaughter of Floyd.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has prioritized cracking down
on police misconduct since being confirmed as the nation's top law
enforcement official in March. He has launched investigations into
policing practices in Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, where
Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot to death by police in her home during a
botched raid in March 2020.
"The indictments, while certainly not convictions, send an important
message to the public that the legal system does provide avenues of
recourse for the actions the former officers took that led to the
death of Floyd," said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law
School in Los Angeles.
The former officers were charged under a federal statute that
provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but are
likely to face less severe sentences if convicted.
The attorneys representing Floyd's family said in a statement that
they are "encouraged by these charges and eager to see continued
justice in this historic case that will impact Black citizens and
all Americans for generations to come."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said the indictments
highlight the need for Congress to pass legislation banning certain
police tactics, such as chokeholds.
"It is a reminder, as was the verdict in the Chauvin case just a few
weeks ago, that there is still more that needs to be done," Psaki
said at a news briefing. "It is a reminder of the need to put police
reform in place."
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter in Washington and Maria Caspani in
New York; additional reporting by Jan Wolfe and Steve Holland;
editing by Scott Malone, Chizu Nomiyama, Howard Goller and Jonathan
Oatis)
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