Fox News reports that Derek Chauvin and the three other Minnesota officers who were involved in the death of George Floyd have just been indicted by a federal grand jury.
The names of the other three officers are Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao. Chauvin and these three officers were Floyd’s arresting officers, and Chauvin, in particular, was the officer who knelt on Floyd.
All four of the officers have been charged with failure to provide Floyd with medical care. Chauvin, Thao, and Kueng have further been charged with violating Floyd’s Constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force. And, Chauvin has additionally been charged for his involvement in an arrest that occurred in 2017 where a neck restraint was used during the arrest of a 14-year-old boy.
Lane, Thao, and Kueng have already made their first court appearance.
Reinforcing “the strength and wisdom” of the Constitution
Following the release of the indictment, Floyd’s legal team put out a statement.
“Today’s federal indictments for criminal civil rights violations associated with the murder of George Floyd reinforces the strength and wisdom of the United States Constitution,” the statement reads. “The Constitution claims to be committed to life, liberty, and justice, and we are seeing this realized in the justice George Floyd continues to receive. This comes after hundreds of years of American history in which Black Americans, unfortunately, did not receive equal justice.”
The attorneys went on to say that “the constitutional violations that George suffered are clear.”
“We are encouraged by these charges and eager to see continued justice in this historic case that will impact Black citizens and all Americans for generations to come,” they concluded.
Background
Chauvin, of course, has already been convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for his involvement in Floyd’s death.
Just this week, Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, filed a motion for a new trial with the Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota. Nelson argued in the motion that the court made a number of mistakes during Floyd’s trial, including not sequestering the jury.
Floyd, who is facing up to 40 years behind bars is scheduled to be sentenced toward the end of June.
Neither Chauvin nor Nelson has commented about these most recent charges.
The post Chauvin is charged . . . again first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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