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Report: 3 more cops to be charged in George Floyd's death

  

Category:  News & Politics

Via:  vic-eldred  •  4 years ago  •  13 comments

By:   AMY FORLITI and STEVE KARNOWSKI J (AP NEWS)

Report: 3 more cops to be charged in George Floyd's death
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors plan to charge a Minneapolis police officer accused of pressing his knee against George Floyd's neck with second-degree murder, and for the first time will level...

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors plan to charge a Minneapolis police officer accused of pressing his knee against George Floyd's neck with second-degree murder, and for the first time will level charges against three other officers at the scene, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Widely seen bystander video showing Floyd's May 25 death has sparked protests nationwide and around the world. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired May 26 and initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The three other officers involved were also fired but were not immediately charged.

The Star Tribune reported that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison would be upgrading the charge against Chauvin while also charging Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. The newspaper cited multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the case who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ellison planned an announcement later Wednesday on the case, but his office did not respond to questions about the Star Tribune report.

Attorney Earl Gray, who represents Lane, told The Associated Press that the report "is accurate" before ending the call. Before news of the upgraded charges, an attorney for Chauvin said he was not making any statements at this time. Attorneys for Thao and Kueng did not return messages seeking comment on the charges.

Attorney Ben Crump tweeted that the Floyd family was "deeply gratified" by Ellison's action and called it "a source of peace for George's family in this difficult time." He said Ellison had told the family his office will continue to investigate and upgrade charges against Chauvin to first-degree murder if warranted. Reached by phone, Crump declined to speak beyond the statement or make clear when Ellison had spoken with the family and whether he had been informed directly that additional charges had been filed.

Widely seen bystander video showing Floyd's death has sparked sometimes violent protests around the world against police brutality and discrimination.

Floyd's family and protesters have repeatedly called for criminal charges against all four officers as well as more serious charges for Chauvin, who held his knee to Floyd's neck, despite his protests that he couldn't breathe, and stayed there even after Floyd stopped moving. Floyd, a black man, was in handcuffs when he died with his face pressed to the street.

Earlier Wednesday, Crump demanded that all four officers be charged.

"He died because he was starving for air," he said. "He needed a breath. So we are demanding justice. We expect all of the police officers to be arrested before we have the memorial here in Minneapolis, Minnesota, tomorrow."

Crump said the other officers failed to protect a man who was pleading for help and said he couldn't breathe.

Crump pointed to the criminal complaint against Chauvin, which said that while Floyd was complaining he couldn't breathe, Lane asked Chauvin twice if they should roll him on his side. Chauvin said they should keep him on his stomach.

"To us that is intent," Crump said. And he said the other officers were complicit because they failed to take action.

"We are expecting these officers to be charged as accomplices," Crump said.

Personnel records released by the city show Chauvin served as a military policeman in the U.S. Army in the late 1990s. Since being hired as a police officer in 2001, he has been awarded two medals of valor: One for being part of a group of officers who opened fire on a stabbing suspect after the man pointed a shotgun at them in 2006, and one for apprehending another man in a domestic incident in 2008. In the latter incident, Chauvin broke down a bathroom door and shot the man in the stomach.

Chauvin was reprimanded in 2008 for pulling a woman out of her car in 2007, frisking her and placing her in his squad car after he stopped her for speeding 10 miles per hour over the limit. His dashboard camera was not activated and a report said he could have interviewed the woman while standing outside her car.

Lane, 37, and Kueng both joined the department in February 2019 and neither have any complaints on their files.

Lane previously worked as a correctional officer at the Hennepin County juvenile jail and as a probation officer at a residential treatment facility for adolescent boys.

Kueng was a 2018 graduate of the University of Minnesota where he worked part-time on campus security. He also worked as a theft-prevention officer at Macy's in downtown Minneapolis while he was in college.

Tou Thao, a native Hmong speaker, joined the police force as a part-time community service officer in 2008 and was promoted to police officer in 2009. He was laid off later that year due to budget cuts and rehired in 2012.

Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights on Tuesday launched a civil rights investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department and its history of racial discrimination, in hopes of forcing widespread change.

___

Associated Press reporters Scott Bauer and Todd Richmond in Madison, Wisconsin, and Bernard Condon and Michael Sisak in New York contributed to this report.


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Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1  seeder  Vic Eldred    4 years ago

On to the trial

 
 
 
Greg Jones
Professor Participates
1.1  Greg Jones  replied to  Vic Eldred @1    4 years ago

 Hopefully they can get convictions

 
 
 
Ozzwald
Professor Quiet
1.1.1  Ozzwald  replied to  Greg Jones @1.1    4 years ago
Hopefully they can get convictions

The increase from 3rd degree murder to 2nd degree murder may indicate that the independent autopsy yielded some facts that hadn't been taken into account from the previous autopsy.  Or even some new evidence showing general intent to commit harm to someone (not specifically Floyd).

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.1.2  seeder  Vic Eldred  replied to  Greg Jones @1.1    4 years ago

I think they still get it with 2nd degree murder. This one's in the bank.

 
 
 
Telo
Freshman Silent
1.2  Telo  replied to  Vic Eldred @1    4 years ago

Hopefully they can get it to stick.  I would say at minimum there will be a change of venue request because he sure as hell isn't going to find an unbiased jury.

Although with the news coverage and the riots that have been going on it would probably be hard to find anyone anywhere that hasn't heard of this case.  Also I've read and heard a lot of people say that they were sick of the rioting as it diminished the cause.

I'd almost rather them stay with a slam dunk 3rd degree murder charge rather than the possibility or a hung jury, mistrial or even acquittal.

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
1.2.1  Snuffy  replied to  Telo @1.2    4 years ago

Yep, that is a definite concern. The defense can use the wide-spread media to push for moving a trial or even getting it tossed out because they cannot find a fair jury.  Glad I'm not a lawyer... 

 
 
 
Vic Eldred
Professor Principal
1.2.2  seeder  Vic Eldred  replied to  Telo @1.2    4 years ago
I would say at minimum there will be a change of venue request because he sure as hell isn't going to find an unbiased jury.

Nope. He is toast!


I'd almost rather them stay with a slam dunk 3rd degree murder charge rather than the possibility or a hung jury, mistrial or even acquittal.

You mean overcharging with murder 1?  We have to give them credit, don't we? They did it right from the beginning by firing the four of them so that the Police Union protections couldn't slow the process down. Now they are going to charge them correctly to get convictions.

 
 
 
Just Jim NC TttH
Professor Principal
2  Just Jim NC TttH    4 years ago

Someone posted here back when this all started that we should keep our eyes and ears open since Ellison is in charge. And here we are with an "upgrade of charges". Good. I just hope he isn't overplaying his hand and has his bases covered for the second degree up charge.

 
 
 
FLYNAVY1
Professor Guide
3  FLYNAVY1    4 years ago

That should go a ways to settle some of the protests down.  

I hate to think what might happen if they don't get convictions on the four.

 
 
 
Tacos!
Professor Guide
4  Tacos!    4 years ago

Good. They should all be charged. In fact, I think the general trend in these cases should be towards charges. Let the evidence be introduced into court for public review instead of the more usual policy of deciding these things behind closed doors. That apparent lack of transparency - I think - is one of the factors that leads to so much public anger and mistrust of the system.

 
 
 
FLYNAVY1
Professor Guide
4.1  FLYNAVY1  replied to  Tacos! @4    4 years ago

I think that is a very good approach Tacos.  Transparency in police matters should cure many ills.

 
 
 
Sean Treacy
Professor Principal
5  Sean Treacy    4 years ago

Second degree is a stretch. It's going to be very hard to prove he intentionally tried to kill him. The hold  he used is legal in Minnesota and been used dozens of times over the last few years. Intentional killing is a very tough road to hoe. Not sure how you can even prove intent rather than he was just reckless. 

 
 
 
Paula Bartholomew
Professor Participates
6  Paula Bartholomew    4 years ago

People were upset at the other three not being arrested faster.  Even though everyone believed they were also guilty, a case had to be built.  As the saying goes "It is not what you know, but what you can prove in court."

 
 

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