Against the background of the ongoing demonstrations, US prosecutors have filed criminal charges against three other police officers in the case of the murder of a young, dark-skinned young man, George Floyd.
Minnesota Public Prosecutor Keith Allison directed the three officers attending the accident, Thomas Lane, Jay Koing, and Too Thao, to be accused of inciting and helping to kill Floyd, who died on March 25 as a result of the use of violence imposed during his arrest.
The three suspects were imprisoned yesterday evening.
As for the fourth officer who caused the death of Floyd, Derek Chauvin, Alison was charged with second degree murder.
Chauvin, who was arrested last week, was originally charged with third-degree murder and second-degree murder, and these charges remain.
A second-degree murder charge states that the officer caused Floyd to be unintentionally killed by another crime, that is, a third-degree assault.
The four officers, who were dismissed from the police last week, face up to 40 years in prison.
Prosecutor Alison described the wave of protests in the United States over the background of Floyd’s death as “dramatic and necessary.”
Floyd’s family lawyer, Ben Cramp, said that making these accusations “is an important step towards justice”, stressing that Alison pledged to continue investigating the young man’s death.
These charges were brought under intense social pressure, against the backdrop of protests accompanied by riots and confrontations between demonstrators and security forces.
At least 12 people were killed in the backdrop of the protests, more than ten thousand protesters were arrested, and more than 20,000 National Guard personnel were deployed in 29 US states to deal with the disturbances.
Source: Associated Press
