Fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Friday afternoon. Agents with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension arrested Chauvin, authorities said.
Chauvin, 44, is the former police officer who was seen on video pressing his knee into Floyd's neck on Monday as Floyd repeatedly said, "I can't breathe." Floyd, who was black, later died.
"That's less than four days," said John Harrington, the Minnesota public safety commissioner. "That's extraordinary. We have never charged a case in that time frame."
The investigation into the other three officers who were fired -- Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng -- is ongoing, Freeman said. He said his office focused on "the most dangerous perpetrator," so it prioritized Chauvin, but he added that he anticipates charges against the other officers.
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"We are in the process of continuing to review the evidence," Freeman said. "There may be subsequent charges later."
After Chauvin's arrest, Freeman said his office did not have enough evidence to charge him until Friday.
Chauvin also was accused of ignoring another officer at the scene who expressed concerns about Floyd, after he had been arrested regarding the use of a counterfeit bill at a small grocery store.
Ben Crump, a civil-rights lawyer representing Floyd's family, welcomed the arrest but said he expected a more serious murder charge and wants all four officers involved to be arrested.
Crump asked to take custody of Floyd's body to have an independent autopsy performed. Crump said that talk of a heart condition or asthma was irrelevant because Floyd was walking and breathing before his contact with police.
The doctor who will do the autopsy is Michael Baden, former chief medical examiner of New York City, who was hired to perform an autopsy on Eric Garner, a black man who died in 2014 in New York after he was placed in a chokehold by police and pleaded for his life, saying he could not breathe.
State and federal authorities also are investigating Floyd's death.
Earlier on Friday and after days of protest violence, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in an emotional news conference that the unrest that has destabilized Minneapolis and St. Paul this week is the result of "generations of pain, of anguish" over racism in policing.
"Their voices went unheard, and now generations of pain is manifesting itself in front of the world," Walz said. "And the world is watching."
The Democratic governor vowed "swift" justice for the officers involved in Floyd's killing. He also pleaded for an end to the violence.
TRUMP'S VIEW
President Donald Trump later talked at the White House about the killing, revealing that he had spoken with some members of Floyd's family.
"I want to express our nation's deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies," he said while insisting, "We can't allow a situation like happened in Minneapolis to descend further into lawless anarchy and chaos."
"I understand the hurt. I understand the pain," he said. But he argued that "looters should not be allowed to drown out the voices of so many peaceful protesters."
"The family of George is entitled to justice and the people of Minnesota are entitled to live in safety. Law and order will prevail," he said.
In other developments:
• A CNN crew was arrested early Friday while reporting on the protests in Minneapolis. CNN said in a statement that the three journalists were arrested "for doing their jobs, despite identifying themselves." Correspondent Omar Jimenez was released from custody and was back on the air a short time later.
A Minnesota State Police officer said the journalists were arrested because they were told to move and didn't, according to CNN.
• Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins said Floyd and Chauvin knew each other for many years because they worked security at the same nightclub. Both men worked at El Nuevo Rodeo on Lake Street before their fatal encounter.
• Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, a Democrat, said he ordered police to vacate the 3rd Precinct station house before it was overrun by protesters. "The symbolism of a building cannot outweigh the importance of life, of our officers or to the public," Frey said early Friday, noting that he made the call after learning there "were imminent threats."
• The House Judiciary Committee called on the Justice Department to investigate whether the death of Floyd was part of a "pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct" by the Minneapolis Police Department.
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The growing intensity of the protests in Minneapolis after a third-straight night of tumult is evidence that the city's strategy to calm residents through police force is not working, City Councilman Jeremiah Ellison said Friday.
Speaking on NBC's Today show, Ellison said the pain, anger and destruction that have gripped the city were preventable and that the city wasted a "great opportunity" on Tuesday evening, the first night of demonstrations over Floyd's death, to respond more effectively.
"Unfortunately, conventional wisdom of force won out," Ellison said.
OVERNIGHT CURFEW
Meanwhile, Frey declared a curfew in Minneapolis from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Friday into today. The order said that no one can be out in public except emergency responders and people seeking medical care, fleeing danger or those who are homeless.
"I know that whatever hope you feel today is tempered with skepticism and a righteous outrage," the mayor said in a statement. "Today's decision from the County Attorney is an essential first step on a longer road toward justice and healing our city."
It was not immediately clear whether Chauvin's arrest would quiet the unrest.
The governor faced tough questions after National Guard leader Maj. Gen. Jon Jensen blamed a lack of clarity about the Guard's mission for a slow response. Walz said the state was in a supporting role and that it was up to city leaders to run the situation. Walz said it became apparent as the 3rd Precinct station was lost that the state had to step in. Requests from Minneapolis and nearby St. Paul for resources "never came," he said.
On Friday morning, nearly every building in a shopping district a couple of blocks from the abandoned police station had been vandalized, burned or looted. National Guard members carrying assault rifles were lined up at some intersections, keeping people away from the police station. Dozens of volunteers swept up broken glass in the street.
Dean Hanson, 64, lives in a subsidized housing unit nearby, which is home to many older residents. He said his building lost electricity overnight, and residents were terrified as they watched mobs loot and burn their way through the neighborhood.
Dozens of fires also were set in St. Paul, where nearly 200 businesses were damaged or looted.
PROTESTS SPREAD
In Atlanta, activists spray-painted on a large CNN logo outside the company's headquarters, breaking a window and marking up doors as hundreds of protesters were confronting police late Friday. Protesters pelted officers with bottles, striking some of them.
Protesters burned an American flag while people watched from rooftops.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock called for calm and unity Friday after the first of several planned city protests turned violent, declaring, "Let not the story be about the riots and protests. Let's keep the focus on the life that was lost."
Protesters took to New York City streets for a second day. At his Friday briefing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he stood with the Minnesota protesters.
"Nobody is sanctioning the arson, and the thuggery and the burglaries, but the protesters and the anger and the fear and the frustration? Yes. Yes. And the demand is for justice," Cuomo said.
About 10 protesters gathered Friday near Windermere, Fla., at a home outside Orlando, after social media postings listed the address as that of Chauvin's Florida home. He was not there.
In Albuquerque, N.M., police used a helicopter and tear gas as they responded after several shots were fired from a vehicle after a demonstration that had lasted hours. Four people were taken into custody, and several protesters became confrontational, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said.
In Fontana, Calif., nine people were arrested after rocks were thrown at businesses, vehicles and officers.
A Columbus, Ohio, protest Thursday night that began peacefully turned violent, with windows smashed at the Ohio Statehouse and storefronts along surrounding downtown streets.
On Friday, several thousand people attended a rally in front of City Hall in Houston, where Floyd grew up. The rally was mostly peaceful but police had apparently taken into custody a woman who had a rifle and had tried to use it to incite the crowd.
Eventually the protesters ended up alongside U.S. 59, one of the major thoroughfares in Houston. About 60 to 70 protesters shut down the freeway for at least half an hour.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said he welcomed the rally.
"We stand with them protesting what happened in Minnesota," said Acevedo. "I'm happy that they're here today because people need to be heard, voices need to be heard."
Information for this article was contributed by Marisa Iati, Kim Bellware, Hannah Knowles, John Wagner and Mark Berman of The Washington Post; and by Amy Forliti, Tim Sullivan, Steve Karnowski, Jeff Baenen, Doug Glass, Gretchen Ehlke, Aaron Morrison and Bernard Condon of The Associated Press.
A Section on 05/30/2020