A mural depicting George Floyd in Minneapolis on Thursday, May 28, 2020. Police departments have tried to ban or severely limit the use of neck restraints — but, in Minneapolis, a knee pressing on a neck for eight minutes led to a man’s death. (Jenn Ackerman/The New York Times)
The Minneapolis police officer who was seen on video kneeling on the neck of George Floyd before Floyd died has been arrested, the state’s public safety commissioner announced Friday.
Video taken by a bystander and shared on social media shows officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into Floyd’s neck, as Floyd was handcuffed and lying face-down on the ground, on Monday. “I can’t breathe,” Floyd pleaded numerous time before appearing to lose consciousness.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is leading the investigation, made the arrest.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman is holding a press conference at 1 p.m. today, during which he “will announce a major development in the death of George Floyd,” according to a statement from his office.
Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington announced Chauvin’s arrest on Friday following a news conference with Gov. Tim Walz. Harrington said he learned of the arrest as he was walking out of the earlier media briefing. Reporters were re-summoned, and Harrington made a brief statement.
Harrington offered no details of charges or the fate of three other Minneapolis officers, who were fired along with Chauvin on Tuesday.
During the news conference, Harrington, a former cop and St. Paul police chief, described Floyd’s death as “murder.”
“We’ll call it a murder,” he said. “That’s what it looked like to me.”
Source: Twincities