United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald held a press conference along with police and FBI on their investigation into the death of George Floyd.
Wochit
MINNEAPOLIS – Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was arrested Friday, days after video circulated of him holding his knee to George Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes before Floyd died.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Chauvin was in custody and facing third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Subsequent charges are possible and charges for the other officers involved are anticipated, Freeman said.
Floyd’s family released a statement following the arrest, calling it a “welcome but overdue step on the road to justice.” The family said they wanted to see Chauvin charged with first-degree murder, as well as charges for the three other officers.
The arrest comes after Minneapolis residents awoke Friday to smoke billowing, fires burning and police lining their streets after another intense night of protests following Floyd’s death. Protests, some violent, also cropped up across the nation and are continuing in many cities Friday night.
More than 1,000 protesters shut down the Hennepin Avenue Bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in a peaceful demonstration before heading for Interstate 35 on Friday night. The crowd marched to the bridge, where they met with a group led by Korey Dean Sr., P.J. Hill and former Iowa State basketball player Royce White. Dean asked the protesters to adhere to the day’s 8 p.m. curfew, which was put in place in response to days of “civil disturbance.”
Stay up-to-date on the George Floyd story by signing up for USA TODAY’s Daily Briefing. Here are the latest developments:
- Vice President Joe Biden said he spoke with Floyd’s family: “With our complacency and silence, we are complicit in perpetuating these cycles of violence.”
- Floyd and Chauvin knew each other before the fatal encounter – they worked together at a bar, a city official and a bar owner said.
- Floyd’s family has hired a medical examiner to conduct an independent autopsy, their attorney Ben Crump says.
- President Donald Trump criticized the city’s mayor, called protesters “thugs” and said “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” Twitter later put a public interest notice on that tweet saying it violated rules about “glorifying violence.”
- A CNN reporter and crew were arrested early Friday and later released.
- Protests and rallies took place across the country overnight. In Louisville, Kentucky, a protest to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police in March, turned violent. Seven people were shot but are expected to recover.
Here’s what we know Friday:
More protests sweep the nation after Chauvin’s arrest
Speaking to a large group of protesters on Friday, Minneapolis activist Kon Johnson, 45, called for calm — but said he understood why people were lashing out. “When you’ve held captive, you end up turning against each other,” he said, urging his fellow residents to exercise their voting rights to change the system he said oppresses people.
“What is it going to take to get people to listen? They say don’t incite violence, but no one is listening. What does it take to get them to listen? I mean, do we have to take this to the suburbs? To the capital?” he asked. “We can’t keep burning stuff down.”
Johnson added Chauvin’s arrest was just a first step. “I don’t want to burn down (expletive) either,” he said “I don’t. But guess what? It’s gonna happen if this fool does not get life in jail.”
Protests also persisted across the nation. The White House was put on lockdown after protests reached the nation’s capital, a spokesman confirmed to USA TODAY. Protests in New York, Atlanta and Chicago, to name a few places, also continued.
Minneapolis, Saint Paul face curfews
In response to “widespread civil unrest and unlawful activity” in the city over recent nights, Gov. Tim Walz, along with the mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, imposed a nighttime curfew on all public places in the Twin Cities, including streets and roads, alleys, highways, driveways, sidewalks, parks and more.
The curfew goes into effect Friday at 8 p.m. until 6 a.m., then again at the same time Saturday night.
According to the emergency order, all law enforcement, fire and medical personnel, news media and other city and state officials were exempt from the curfew, along with people seeking care, fleeing dangerous circumstances or experiencing homelessness.
Violation of the order would result in a misdemeanor offense and is punishable by a fine up to $1,000 or imprisonment up to 90 days, according to the order.
The mayor of bordering Roseville announced on Twitter that, “out of an abundance of caution,” he had also imposed a curfew.
County attorney says Chauvin facing murder, manslaughter charges
Booking photo for Derek Michael Chauvin, 44. Chauvin is a former Minneapolis Police Department officer who was arrested in connection with the death of George Floyd. (Photo: Photo provided by Ramsey County Jail)
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said that his office was still reviewing evidence in Floyd’s death but they have “sufficient admissible evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt” on both a third-degree murder and a manslaughter charge.
Freeman said the charges were similar to those filed against former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor in the shooting death of Justine Damond.
Asked why Chauvin was not arrested and held before charges filed, Freeman said, “This is by far the fastest we’ve ever charged a police officer.”
Freeman would not comment on what specific piece of evidence led to Chauvin’s arrest but said that his office had reviewed footage of Floyd’s death and the officer’s body-worn camera, spoken to witnesses and obtained a preliminary report from the medical examiner.
“We have now been able to put together the evidence that we need. Even as late as yesterday afternoon, we didn’t have all that we needed,” Freeman said.
Freeman said he would not speculate about the three other officers involved in Floyd’s arrest but said he anticipates charges.
Complaint provides new details from body cam footage
A criminal complaint that references body-worn cameras worn by the four now-former officers involved in the incident sheds some additional light on what happened on Memorial Day in the moments before and after Floyd’s death.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s complaint said Chauvin had his knee on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, including two minutes and 53 seconds after Floyd was non-responsive.
The complaint lines up with what many nationwide have seen in video of the incident and adds context for what other officers at the scene were doing. One officer on the scene expressed worry for Floyd and asked Chauvin twice if Floyd should be rolled onto his side.
After Floyd became unresponsive, an officer checked for a pulse and said he didn’t find one, according to the complaint. Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for an additional two minutes after that, according to the complaint. The report adds the type of restraint Chauvin used “with a subject in a prone position is inherently dangerous.”
Read more about the complaint here.
Family seeks first-degree murder charge
The family of George Floyd released a statement Friday calling for officials to revise the charges against Chauvin.
“We expected a first-degree murder charge. We want a first-degree murder charge. And we want to see the other officers arrested,” the statement said. “We call on authorities to revise the charges to reflect the true culpability of this officer.”
Activists echoed the call, saying that one arrest was not enough. At a press conference inside Minneapolis city hall, attended by former NBA player Stephen Jackson and actor Jamie Foxx, community members called for the arrest of all four officers involved in the incident.
“We are not satisfied with one officer,” said lawyer and minister Nekima Levy Armstrong. “All of them were complicit in his murder, and they all need to (be) held accountable, just as if it was four black men that killed somebody.”
Barr says federal investigation ‘proceeding quickly’
Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department is “proceeding quickly” with its investigation on Floyd’s death.
“The video images of the incident that ended with death of Mr. Floyd, while in custody of Minneapolis police officers, were harrowing to watch and deeply disturbing,” Barr said Friday.
The Justice Department has launched a parallel investigation on whether the officers committed civil rights violations. Barr said state officials will first make charging decisions before the Justice Department does.
– Kristine Phillips
Biden, Obama speak out
Former Vice President Joe Biden, in a video address Friday, said he spoke with George Floyd’s family, saying, “It’s time for us to take a hard look at the uncomfortable truths. It’s time for us to face that deep open wound in this nation.”
Added Biden: “With our complacency and silence, we are complicit in perpetuating these cycles of violence.”
In a statement, former President Barack Obama said he, his friends and millions of other Americans share “anguish” after Floyd’s death.
While it’s natural to want the U.S. to return to “normal” amid the coronavirus, Obama said “normal” for many Americans is “being treated differently on account of race.”
“This shouldn’t be ‘normal’ in 2020 America. It can’t be ‘normal,’ ” he added. “If we want our children to grow up in a nation that lives up to its highest ideals, we can and must be better.”
The protest: What one reporter saw during George Floyd protests — until he was temporarily blinded by pepper spray
Minnesota Gov. Walz: ‘It’s time for us to clean our streets’
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called on the public to end violent protests and looting that take away peaceful demonstrations honoring Floyd.
“As we put a presence in the street to restore order, it is to open that space to seek justice and heal after what happened,” Walz said at a news conference.
Walz addressed criticism about a lack of police presence overnight during the protests, saying that the local leadership needed to make specific requests as to the mission for state troopers and national guard members.
“You will not see that tonight,” Walz said. “There was no social control. … That is an abject failure that cannot happen.”
“The chapter that has been written this week is one of our darkest chapters,” Walz said.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison echoed the governor’s message of addressing structural problems within policing in the state, adding that prosecution of the officers involved in Floyd’s arrest alone will not lead to justice.
“We’re not just going to fix the windows and sweep up the glass,” he said. “We’re going to fix a broken society.”
Floyd, Chauvin worked security at same bar
Floyd andChauvin knew each other before the fatal encounter during which Chauvin held his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes as Floyd said he could not breathe, a city official and a bar owner said.
Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins told CNN and MSNBC that Floyd and Chauvin were long-time co-workers who worked security at the same bar, El Nuevo Rodeo.
Speaking with KSTP-TV, former bar owner Maya Santamaria said Chauvin worked off-duty security outside for 17 years while Floyd worked inside the bar. Santamaria said she sold the club a few months ago.
More on Derek Chauvin: Minneapolis police at center of George Floyd’s death had a history of complaints
Floyd’s family arranges independent autopsy
George Floyd’s family has hired a medical examiner to conduct an independent autopsy, the family’s lawyer said Friday.
“We’ve just spoken recently with the district attorney,” attorney Ben Crump said in a press conference. “We’re going to take custody back of his body, and we’re bringing in Dr. Michael Baden to perform an independent autopsy.”
Crump said the family suspected city authorities of trying to establish a false narrative through the autopsy report. The preliminary autopsy report found “no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation,” according to the criminal complaint released Friday.
“The family does not trust anything coming from the Minneapolis Police Department. How can they?” Crump said.
Baden is a forensic pathologist known for investigation high-profile deaths, including that of Jeffrey Epstein. Baden did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also Friday, the families of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Floyd issued a joint call for a congressional hearing and a national task force aimed at ending racial violence and increasing police accountability in the U.S.
“While we are grateful for the outpouring of love and support, it’s important that now – more than ever – we use our voices to enact change, demand accountability within our justice system and keep the legacies of Breonna, Ahmaud and George alive,” the families said in a joint statement.
George Floyd video adds to trauma: ‘When is the last time you saw a white person killed online?’
More news on the police death of George Floyd
Minnesota State Police and National Guard keep watch after a night of riots and looting in Minneapolis. Protests continued across the nation Friday night. (Photo: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY NETWORK)
CNN reporter Omar Jimenez and crew released after being arrested
Gov. Tim Walz apologized Friday for the arrest of a CNN reporter and crew. “I take full responsibility. There is absolutely no reason something like this should happen,” he said.
“Put us back where you want us. We are getting out of your way,” Jimenez said. “Wherever you want us, we will go. We were just getting out of your way when you were advancing through the intersection.”
A response by police could not be heard as Jimenez explained the scene. An officer then told Jimenez he was under arrest. Jimenez asked why he was under arrest, but was taken from the scene. The rest of the crew was then arrested as the live shot continued with the camera on the ground.
CNN said later Friday that Jimenez had been released and that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz apologized for his arrest.
“There was a moment, minutes after it happened where things started to sink in a little bit,” Jimenez said on CNN after his release. “I was just as confused as you.”
“They eventually came back with our belongings … unclipped our handcuffs and that is when we were led out,” he said, adding, “There was no, ‘Sorry, this is a big misunderstanding.’ “
Protest erupted in Louisville with 7 shot overnight
At least seven people were shot during a protest in Louisville, Kentucky, over the police shooting of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her apartment while sleeping.
Gunfire erupted after hundreds of protesters took to the streets demanding justice for Taylor – one of several deaths of unarmed African Americans drawing national attention in recent weeks.
It began as a peaceful demonstration with several hundred people marching through downtown, chanting Taylor’s name and calling for the officers involved in her death to face charges. But as the sun set, tensions rose. Police in riot gear clashed with hundreds of protesters outside of Louisville Metro Hall, officers releasing clouds of tear gas and firing a barrage of rubber bullets at the crowd.
By the end of the evening, dozens of vehicles and buildings had sustained property damage. Crowds shook a police prisoner transport van, nearly toppling it. As of Friday afternoon, the police department said there were no leads in the case.
– Mandy McLaren, Darcy Costello, Cameron Teague Robinson, Bailey Loosemore and Sarah Ladd
Breonna Taylor shooting: What to know about the FBI, Louisville police investigations
Contributing: Associated Press; Jordan Culver, Joel Shannon, Erick Smith, Savannah Behrmann, Cara Richardson, Steve Kiggins and Heather Tucker, USA TODAY; Tyler J. Davis, Des Moines (Iowa) Register.
Read more about George Floyd, the shooting and other news:
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was taken into custody after several days of violent protests surrounding the death of George Floyd.
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