Only two and a half weeks after Derek Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder for the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, Chauvin and three other former police officers were indicted by a federal grand jury for civil rights violations in connection with Floyd’s death. George Floyd died when officers responded to a report that he had allegedly used a forged bill to pay at a convenience store, and Chauvin kneeled on his neck for over nine minutes during the course of his arrest.
In the federal indictment, Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are all charged with failing to render Floyd medical aid when needed during the arrest, and Chauvin is charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights by using excessive force. Keung and Tao are also charged with failing to intervene as Chauvin used that force.
Chauvin was also charged in a separate indictment for violating the civil rights of a 17-year-old in a 2017 incident where he allegedly hit the boy in the head with a flashlight then pinned him to the ground with his knee—similar to Chauvin’s actions filmed during the Floyd killing.
Chauvin is already facing up to 40 years in prison for the state murder conviction, and the other officers, at the time this blog was first published in May 2021, are pending trial in state court for aiding and abetting in Floyd’s death.
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