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The indictment follows an announcement in which Justice Department officials confirmed they spent months gathering information on the former officers and planned to arrest them under federal civil rights violations. The department noted then that it was awaiting the verdict of Chauvin’s trial before proceeding with the charges and thus would now proceed with them given that the state case is over.
Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges against him on April 20. He was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter after kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020.
One of the counts the officers were charged for specifically notes Chauvin’s actions of keeping his knees on “Floyd’s neck and body even after Floyd became unresponsive … This offense resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of, George Floyd,” the indictment said.
Federal prosecutors were looking to not only indict Chauvin in connection with Floyd’s death, but for a violent arrest he conducted in 2017. According to ABC News, the Justice Department was already considering these charges after court documents found that Chauvin allegedly struck a 14-year-old boy on the head with his flashlight, then grabbed him by the throat and hit him again. In connection to that case, Chauvin was also charged with violating the boy’s civil rights in a second indictment.
Responding to the charges, Ben Crump and the team of attorneys for Floyd’s family said the civil rights charges reinforce “the strength and wisdom” of the Constitution. “We are encouraged by these charges and eager to see continued justice in this historic case that will impact Black citizens and all Americans for generations to come,” the attorneys said in a statement.
The indictment and Justice Department’s announcement that federal civil charges will be pursued follows an announcement by Attorney General Merrick Garland a day after Chauvin was convicted that an investigation into the practices of the Minneapolis Police Department will be conducted. The probe will investigate whether the police department “engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, including during protests.”
While the other three former officers remain free on bond until they face a trial in August, Chauvin will be convicted on state charges of murder and manslaughter in connection with Floyd’s death and will reside in Minnesota’s only maximum-security prison as he awaits his June 25 sentencing, the Associated Press reported.
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