WASHINGTON – The fired Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck for minutes on end last month made his initial court appearance Monday on charges related to the death of the handcuffed black man.
Derek Chauvin appeared via video link due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Judge Jeannice Reding set Chauvin’s bail at $1 million with conditions or $1.25 million without them. The conditions reportedly cover a wide set of activities, including requiring the former officer to appear at all additional court sessions, not working in security or law enforcement, and not having a firearm.
Chauvin is next expected in court on June 29.
Bystander footage of the arrest appears to show Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, ignoring Floyd’s pleas that he could not breathe before the victim lost consciousness during the fatal May 25 arrest.
Keith Ellison, the attorney general of the Midwestern state of Minnesota, upgraded charges against Chauvin last week after taking the lead on the prosecution days prior. Chauvin now faces second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.
He also charged the three other officers who were on the scene with aiding and abetting. All four officers are in custody after being fired the day after Floyd’s death.
The public uproar over Floyd’s death triggered protests against police brutality and racism throughout the US and around the wider world.
A majority of Minneapolis’ City Council said Sunday they favor disbanding the city’s police force after striking a deal on Friday with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights to ban chokeholds and the use of neck restraints as policing tactics.
It also requires police to halt and report any instances where fellow officers violate the policy.