Former Officers Involved In George Floyd’s Death Hit With Federal Civil Rights Indictments By Grand Jury

Former Officers Involved In George Floyd’s Death Hit With Federal Civil Rights Indictments By Grand Jury

Earlier this morning (Friday, May 7th), a grand jury indicted the four officers involved in George Floyd‘s murder on federal charges,

The officers–Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Keung, and Thomas Lane–received charges for violating George Floyd‘s constitutional rights. Derek Chauvin, who was recently found guilty on all counts for killing George Floyd, was charged with depraving Floyd of his rights regarding:

“unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer.”

Thomas Kiernan Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao

Derek Chauvin and the other officers involved–Tou Thao, J. Alexander Keung, and Thomas Lane–also face charges for not providing George Floyd medical attention. The indictment reads:

“The defendants saw George Floyd lying on the ground in clear need of medical care, and willfully failed to aid Floyd, thereby acting with deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of harm to Floyd.”

Additionally, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Keung are facing charges for failing to intervene when Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd‘s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. According to the indictment, Thao and Keung were:

“aware that [Chauvin] was holding his knee across George Floyd’s neck as Floyd lay handcuffed and unresisting, and that Defendant Chauvin continued to hold Floyd to the ground even after Floyd became unresponsive, and the defendants willfully failed to intervene to stop Defendant Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force.”

On top of the indictments regarding George Floyd‘s murder, Derek Chauvin was also indicted on separate charges for using excessive force on a 14-year-old in 2017. The indictment alleges that Chauvin struck the teenager in the head with a flashlight and:

“held his knee on the neck and the upper back of the teenager even after the teenager was lying prone, handcuffed, and unresisting, also resulting in bodily injury.”

Derek Chauvin

Derek Chauvin is currently scheduled for sentencing in June, and the other officers’ joint trial is set to begin in August.

What are your thoughts regarding these former officers being indicted for their roles in George Floyd’s murder? Comment down below to let us know!