MINNEAPOLIS – The former police officer who knelt on George Floyd was arrested Friday.
State prosecutors charged Derek Chauvin with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter for the death of George Floyd, a black man who was handcuffed and pleaded that he couldn’t breathe.
Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines recommend 12 1/2 years for a conviction on the murder count and four years on the manslaughter charge.
Chauvin was arrested several days after he was involved in Floyd’s arrest. Floyd was arrested after he allegedly used a counterfeit bill at a convenience store, police have said. Outrage grew after a video surfaced showing a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck. The 46-year-old, who was unarmed and handcuffed, cried out that he couldn’t breathe.
He was soon after declared dead at a nearby hospital, according to authorities.
Chauvin was fired this week, along with three other MPD officers who were present when Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck.
According to reports, the former Minneapolis police officer had 18 prior complaints filed against him with the Minneapolis Police Department’s Internal Affairs.
Only two of the 18 complaints against Chauvin were “closed with discipline,” according to a MPD internal affairs public summary. In both cases, the “discipline issued” column indicated that a letter of reprimand had been issued in response.
Chauvin was not the only officer on the scene that day with a history of complaints against him.
Another officer had six complaints filed with internal affairs, one of which was still open, according to the public summary released Thursday. The other five complaints had been closed without discipline.
The two other officers involved had no complaints filed against them, per MPD internal affairs.