Story at a glance
- The charge against Derek Chauvin has been raised from third-degree murder to second-degree murder
- Three other former officers will be charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
- All three are expected to be in custody Wednesday.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) announced Wednesday charges against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck, will be elevated to second-degree murder and three other former officers will be charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
“First, today I filed an amended complaint that charges former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with murder in the second degree for the death of George Floyd,” Ellison said Wednesday during a news conference. “I believe the evidence available to us now supports the stronger charge of second-degree murder.”
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Previously, Chauvin, who was fired from the Minneapolis police department following Floyd’s death and arrested last week, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Ellison also announced three former Minneapolis police officers on the scene, Thomas Lane, J.A. Keung and Tou Thao, when Floyd was killed have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. At least one is in custody and the other two are expected to be arrested Wednesday.
Lane and Keung helped restrain Floyd during the Memorial Day incident while Thao stood nearby.
After announcing the charges, Ellison noted that a successful prosecution could not rectify the hurt and loss so many feel following Floyd’s death.
“The very fact that we have filed these charges means that we believe in them. But what I do not believe is that one successful prosecution can rectify the hurt and loss that so many people feel,” Ellison said.
Video of the incident sparked days of protests after Chauvin was shown kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, while Floyd pleaded with the officer that he couldn’t breathe. Pressure for authorities to bring charges against the remaining three officers had been building as protests have continued for days across the country.
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