The three former police officers who accompanied Derek Chauvin as he retrained the late George Floyd are to be charged in connection with the 46-year-old African-American's death.
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar announced plans to charge ex-Minneapolis cops Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and J Alexander Kueng.
Klobuchar tweeted:
"Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is increasing charges against Derek Chauvin to 2nd degree in George Floyd’s murder and also charging other 3 officers. This is another important step for justice."
Lane and Kueng helped Chauvin restrain Floyd, while Thao stood nearby as the scene unfolded.
She also revealed that 42-year-old Chauvin has had charges against him upgraded from third-degree murder to second-degree murder.
Details of any charges the former cops are set to face yet to be announced, and it is unclear whether those three officers will be charged with the same offense(s).
On Friday it was revealed that Derek Chauvin, the fired police officer recorded kneeling on Floyd's neck, had been detained and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
More on Chauvin's arrest below:The 19-year veteran was arrested by the state’s bureau of criminal apprehension.
Hennepin County attorney Mike Freeman revealed in a statement: "We are in the process of continuing to review the evidence. There may be additional charges later."
Chauvin's wife has filed for divorce, according to a statement from her lawyers.
Per the Guardian, after reviewing the bodycam footage of Floyd's arrest, state charging documents allege that the now-former Minneapolis police officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for a total of nearly nine minutes.
It also states that Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck for two minutes and 43 seconds after Floyd had become non-responsive.
Floyd's family has since released a statement calling Chauvin's arrest a "welcome but overdue step on the road to justice” and added that members “expected a first-degree murder charge" - which they still demand.
"The pain that the black community feels over this murder and what it reflects about the treatment of black people in America is raw and spilling out on to streets across [the country]," the statement added.
The statement concluded by saying:
"Today, George Floyd's family is having to explain to his children why their father was executed by police on video. It's essential that the City closely examines and changes its policing policies and training procedures to correct for the lack of proper field supervision; the use of appropriate, non-lethal restraint techniques; the ability to recognize medical signs associated with the restriction of airflow, and the legal duty to seek emergency medical care and stop a civil rights violation."
Under Minnesota law, a first-degree murder charge would require prosecutors to prove Chauvin’s actions were willful and premeditated.
In footage of the arrest, George Floyd can be heard pleading for help - repeatedly telling officers that he couldn't breathe. He then became unresponsive during the arrest and was later pronounced dead.
Prior to his death, officers were alerted that Floyd had been allegedly using a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, CBS reported.
After locating Floyd in a vehicle, the two officers said he "physically resisted" arrested.
A Minneapolis police spokesman said in a news briefing early on Tuesday: "Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and realized that the suspect was suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center where he died a short time later."
However, video footage of the arrest that was captured by a bystander caused uproar across the nation, as it shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck until he became motionless.
The woman who captured the footage, Darnella Frazier, wrote on Facebook: "They killed him right in front of cup foods over south on 38th and Chicago!! No type of sympathy #POLICEBRUTALITY."
*We will not be sharing the video, but it can be found on Miss Frazier's Facebook page HERE*The footage shows Floyd being restrained on the ground and handcuffed, as the white officer presses his knee onto Floyd's neck.
Floyd can be heard crying out: "Please, I can't breathe." But despite his pleads, Chauvin did not move. Another officer can be seen watching on without intervening.
As Chauvin continued to hold his knee on Floyd's neck, a passerby screams: "That's bulls**t, bro. You're stopping his breathing right there, bro. Get him off the ground, bro," adding that the officer was "enjoying it".
Floyd then becomes motionless.
After several minutes, paramedics arrived on the scene, but George Floyd was sadly pronounced dead later that day.
Floyd's death sparked mass demonstrations across the US and other major cities around the globe.
The protests - some peaceful, some violent - have erupted calling out the systemic injustices carried out against black people, not least seen by the recent deaths of Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
They are also demanding an end to police brutality and the racism that is so deeply entrenched in America and the western world.
The message is simple: Black lives matter.
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