Criminal charges have been filed against the other three Minneapolis Police officers who were involved in the tragic death of George Floyd. In addition, authorities have upgraded the charges against Derek Chauvin, the officer who held his knee against Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
The charges against the fired police officers are as follows:
Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng face aiding and abetting, second-degree, unintentional murder, plus aiding and abetting, second-degree manslaughter.
Derek Chauvin, who was originally charged with murder, has had his charge upgraded to second-degree, unintentional murder. Chauvin still faces third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter.
Congressman Albio Sires (D – District 8) released the following statement upon learning of the new charges against the former policemen, “We all watched Derek Chauvin kill George Floyd, including the three officers who should have acted to stop the blatant brutality. They should have done their duty to protect and serve but instead, they restrained Mr. Floyd or stood by while he died. The new charges against the three other officers involved, as well as the elevated charge against Derek Chauvin are a much-needed step forward in the pursuit of justice. We must continue in that pursuit and work to bring about true change that addresses the systemic racism that exists in our nation.”