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Posts tagged as “Derek Chauvin”

Darnella Frazier, Brave Teen Who Filmed George Floyd’s Fatal Arrest and Testified at the Derek Chauvin Trial, Issues 1st Public Statement

Darnella Frazier, the young woman who was 17 years old when she filmed on her cell phone Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers arrest and subsequently murder George Floyd, issued her first public statement about the tragic incident she witnessed on the year anniversary of Floyd’s death.

Frazier, who offered her testimony at Chauvin’s trial along with her video footage, helped lead to his conviction on all counts of second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter, posted to her Facebook page yesterday:

In addition to expressing how witnessing such an atrocity and abuse of power has affected her,  Frazier speaks on the value of George Floyd’s life, and what needs to change in policing and in society to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again:

My video didn’t save George Floyd, but it put his murderer away and off the streets. You can view George Floyd anyway you choose to view him, despite his past, because don’t we all have one? He was a loved one, someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s brother, and someone’s friend. We the people won’t take the blame, you won’t keep pointing fingers at us as if it’s our fault, as if we are criminals. I don’t think people understand how serious death is…that person is never coming back.

These officers shouldn’t get to decide if someone gets to live or not. It’s time these officers start getting held accountable. Murdering people and abusing your power while doing it is not doing your job. It shouldn’t have to take people to actually go through something to understand it’s not ok. It’s called having a heart and understanding right from wrong.

Continued praise and strength to this young woman who acted extraordinarily in extraordinary and horrifying circumstances.

To read her statement in its entirety, click above on the link to Frazier’s Facebook post or read it below:

U.S. Justice Department Indicts Four Former Minneapolis Police Officers on Federal Charges for George Floyd’s Death

The U.S. Department of Justice, lead by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, has indicted four former Minneapolis police officers in connection with the killing of George Floyd.  The charges allege the officers violated Floyd’s constitutional rights, according to court documents filed in federal court in Minnesota.

According to cnn.com, the indictment says Derek Chauvin — who was convicted on second-degree murder charges in Floyd’s death — deprived Floyd of the right to be free from “unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer.”

Former officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng were also charged in connection with their failure to intervene in Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force, per the indictment. Chauvin, Thao, Kueng and the fourth officer, Thomas Lane, all face a charge for failing to give Floyd medical aid.

Such federal charges are rare, notes npr.org, because it is difficult to meet the high legal bar they require. Prosecutors are charged with proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Chauvin acted “willfully” to deprive Floyd of his civil rights and used force that was “constitutionally unreasonable.”

Additionally, Chauvin faces a separate federal indictment related to a 2017 incident where he allegedly used a neck restraint “without legal justification” on a 14-year-old and beat the teenager in the head with a flashlight.

Several weeks ago, the Justice Department also filed federal hate crime charges against the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

JUSTICE: Derek Chauvin Found Guilty of the Murder of George Floyd

Former police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty on all counts for the murder of George Floyd. This is an excellent day for justice and accountability.

Continued love and healing to George Floyd’s family, loved ones, the city of Minneapolis and the United States. May this be a true beginning and reckoning for justice in the United States.

Protests Over Killing of Duante Wright in MN Help Lead to Resignations of Brooklyn Center Police Chief and Officer

Police officer Kim Potter resigned yesterday after shooting and killing Daunte Wright, 20, at a traffic stop on Sunday, officials in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, announced. Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon also submitted his resignation, Brooklyn Center Mayor Mike Elliott announced at a press conference.

As the Derek Chauvin trial over the police killing of George Floyd proceeds only 10 miles away in Minneapolis, hundreds of people showed up for a memorial protest at the police department in Brooklyn Center in spite of a 7 p.m. curfew that had been called across much of the Twin Cities area.

Protests also spread across the country Monday night after police officials in Brooklyn Center, Minn., said they believed Potter, who shot and killed Wright, had intended to use her Taser but accidentally fired her handgun instead.

Wright’s parents Katie and Aubrey Wright and their attorneys Ben Crump and Jeff Storms discuss the death of their unarmed son during a traffic stop and how they are seeking justice with ABC‘s Robin Roberts below:

Commander Tony Gruenig has been named acting police chief as the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension continues to investigate the homicide.

Mayor Elliott is asking for the attorney general to be assigned the case:

https://twitter.com/mayor_elliott/status/1382034692170514436

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/police-officer-shot-killed-daunte-wright-resigns/story?id=77048421

https://www.npr.org/2021/04/13/986764183/protests-grow-in-minnesota-and-around-u-s-over-death-of-daunte-wright

Three Other Officers Charged With Aiding and Abetting Murder of George Floyd

According to nytimes.com and The Washington Post, the other three officers present while Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by holding his knee on his neck for close to nine minutes have been charged in the case for aiding and abetting murder.

Chauvin’s charges have also been increased from third to second-degree murder.

To quote nytimes.com:

The three former officers, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting murder, court records show.

The fourth officer, Chauvin, 44, who was arrested last week, faces an increased charge of second-degree murder.

All four officers were quickly fired from the Minneapolis Police Department after video of the encounter emerged. Officers arrested Mr. Floyd on the evening of May 25 after a store employee called the police, saying that someone had used a counterfeit $20 bill to buy cigarettes.

Read more: nytimes.com