Former police officer Derek Chauvin's murder charges are now second degree.
The three other Minneapolis police officers who were fired for their involvement in George Floyd's death have been charged with aiding and abetting murder, according to court records obtained by CBS Minnesota. Additionally, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has also increased former officer Derek Chauvin's murder charge to second-degree murder.
Floyd, a 46-year-old black man living in Minnesota, died after Chauvin held him down by the neck with his knee for more than seven minutes when he was arrested for suspicion of forgery outside a deli. Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng were also seen holding down Floyd, while Tou Thao was spotted near the others in the video. The New York Times reports that per county jail records, Kueng is in custody and warrants were issued for Lane and Thao.
Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington announced on Friday that Chauvin was taken into custody by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. At the time, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Chauvin had been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Per CBS, "Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines indicate two different possibilities for intentional second-degree murder and unintentional second-degree murder. The former sentencing guideline calls for, upon conviction, 25 and a half years in prison, whereas the latter calls for 12 and a half years."
The Minnesota Department of Human Rights also announced on Tuesday that it would begin an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department after filing a civil rights charge related to Floyd’s death.
Floyd's family conducted an independent autopsy, with the results stating that his cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation and called the death a homicide. However, CBS reports that the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s final autopsy report said that the cause of death was homicide, due to cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint and neck compression.
Floyd's death has led to widespread outrage, protests and unrest across the nation, as many people call for justice. This week, Floyd's younger brother, Terrence Floyd, opened up about the fatal arrest of his brother during an appearance on Good Morning America.
"When I found out the news, it's been just devastating, I'm still a little numb about it," he said. "But I got people in my corner just being there for me, so going there tomorrow, I just want to feel my brother's spirit. I just want to... I don't know, for lack of better terms, just connect with him again. That's basically what I want when I go to that site."
Terrence added that he'd like the world to know that his brother, whom he referred to as "a gentle giant," was all about "peace" and "unity."
Roxie Washington, the mother of Floyd's 6-year-old daughter, Gianna, also spoke out on Tuesday for the first time since his death.
"I don't have a lot to say, because I can't get my words together right now," Washington said at Minneapolis City Hall. "But I wanted everybody to know that this is what those officers took. At the end of the day, they get to go home and be with their families. Gianna does not have a father."
See more on Floyd's family in the video below.
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