3 More Officers Charged in George Floyd’s Death; Upgraded Charge for Chauvin
More arrests are coming in connection with the murder of George Floyd. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar took to Twitter to announce that the Minnesota Attorney General is upgrading Derek Chauvin's 3rd Degree murder charge to 2nd degree murder. Klobuchar also states that three other officers will be facing charges for their part in Floyd's death.
Klobuchar went on to say that the move is 'another important step for justice'. Floyd was killed by police after an officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeled on his neck for close to 9 minutes. Initially, Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Chauvin along with three other officers (Thao, Lane and Keung) were fired from the department shortly after the incident occurred.
According to CNN, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Keung, who helped restrain Floyd, and Tou Thao, who stood near the others are now being charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Initially, the Minneapolis Police Department claimed Floyd was uncooperative and was resisting arrest. However, video taken of the incident did not support that claim. The Fraternal Order of Police denounced Floyd's killing and the handling of the situation. Their statement said "I do not believe this incident should be allowed to define our profession or the Minneapolis Police Department, but there is no doubt that this incident has diminished the trust and respect our communities have for the men and women of law enforcement".
Floyd's death has sparked universal outrage in communities across the country including Shreveport. Hundreds of demonstrations have taken place since Floyd's death on May 25th. While most demonstrations have featured peaceful protest, several have turned violent and unruly. There is another peaceful protest planned for this weekend in Downtown Shreveport.
Locally, in Shreveport, Mayor Adrian Perkins has denounced the way Floyd was killed by police. However, Caddo District Attorney James Stewart is investigating the recent deaths of two black men in Shreveport Police Custody.
Stewart says "Upon our initial review of the files, we have found that they are missing reports, statements, downloads and other vital information that is essential to conduct a thorough and complete review. The Shreveport Police Department is being notified as to what is missing and is being requested to provide this to our office expeditiously."
Police Chief Ben Raymond has responded to Stewart's statement by saying there are no 'missing reports', the DA's office have just requested supplemental documents and additional information. Raymond says he believes that Stewart's comment was taken out of context.