Minneapolis officer's murder charge to be upgraded in George Floyd death, 3 others charged: report

Minnesota's Attorney General’s Office is expected to announce upgraded charges against Derek Chauvin, the white Minneapolis officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck, and has added new charges against the three other officers at the scene.

Chauvin will now be charged with second-degree murder, The Star Tribune first reported. The other three officers involved -- Thomas Lane, J. A. Kueng and Tou Thao – will be charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is expected to hold a press conference Wednesday afternoon to announce further details.

Chauvin was arrested Friday on third-degree murder and manslaughter charges. A day after Floyd, who is black, died in police custody on Memorial Day, all four officers were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department.

Peaceful protests, nighttime rioting and violent clashes with the police ensued for over a week straight in major metropolitan cities across the country in response to Floyd’s death.

In a press conference earlier Wednesday, Floyd’s family demanded that the other three former police officers involved in his death be arrested and charged before the memorial in his honor Thursday.

The lead attorney for the Floyd family, Ben Crump, joined by Floyd’s son Quincy Mason, held a press conference Wednesday in Minneapolis in the same spot captured on video Memorial Day. Floyd is seen in the footage in custody with a white Minneapolis police officer’s knee to his neck and is heard saying, “I cannot breathe.”

Floyd, who is black, died soon afterward.

“We expect all of the police officers to be arrested before we have the memorial here in Minneapolis tomorrow. Because... (Read more)

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