Floyd's murder: 4 ex-police officers face civil rights charges
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
A combination photo of former Minneapolis police officers (clockwise from top left) Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng following their booking over the death of Mr George Floyd.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
MINNEAPOLIS • Four former Minneapolis police officers face federal civil rights charges over their role in the arrest and murder of Mr George Floyd, according to court documents, showing the US Justice Department's tougher stance in such cases.
A federal grand jury in Minneapolis last Thursday issued a three-count indictment charging Derek Chauvin - the white former officer earlier convicted in Minnesota state court of murdering Mr Floyd - and three of his fellow officers with violating the unarmed black man's constitutional rights, including his right to have his medical needs attended to. "The defendants saw George Floyd lying on the ground in clear need of medical care, and wilfully failed to aid Floyd," the indictment says.
Also charged were Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane. Attorneys for the four men did not respond to messages seeking comment on the charges.
Thao, Kueng and Lane appeared on video with their lawyers in federal court in Minneapolis on Friday. All three were released on US$25,000 (S$33,100) bonds.
Chauvin, who is awaiting a June 25 sentencing hearing on his state convictions, remains in custody.
In a separate federal indictment unsealed on Friday, Chauvin was charged with violating the rights of a 14-year-old boy during an arrest in September 2017. He is accused of holding the teen by the neck and hitting him with a flashlight.
The charges are the latest sign that the Justice Department under Democratic President Joe Biden is taking a harder line against police abuses, a role that civil rights advocates say the department had neglected during Republican Donald Trump's administration.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the indictments highlight the need for Congress to pass legislation banning certain police tactics, such as chokeholds.
"It is a reminder, as was the verdict in the Chauvin case just a few weeks ago, that there is still more that needs to be done," Ms Psaki said at a news briefing on Friday.
REUTERS
