Four Former Police Officers in Floyd Case Face Federal Charges
2021-05-08
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1Four former police officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota last year are to face a federal civil rights trial.
2A federal grand jury has decided to bring charges against the four accusing them of violating George Floyd's constitutional rights.
3A grand jury is a group of citizens who study evidence to decide if there should be a trial in a legal case.
4The decision was made public Friday.
5Floyd died after officers restrained him on the ground during his arrest on May 25, 2020.
6During the arrest, Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe in an incident which was filmed and shown all over the world.
7Derek Chauvin is charged with violating Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force.
8Tou Thao and J. Alexander Keung are also charged with violating Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable seizure.
9The charging document alleges that the two did not try to stop Chauvin as he put a knee on Floyd's neck.
10All four officers, Chauvin, Keung, Thao, and Thomas Lane, are charged with failure to provide Floyd with medical care.
11Chauvin is also charged in connection with the arrest and restraint of a 14-year-old boy in 2017.
12Three of the former officers, Lane, Thao and Keung, appeared before the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis through a video link.
13Chauvin was not part of the court appearance.
14In April, a court in Minneapolis found Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter charges brought by the state of Minnesota.
15He is being held in a high security prison in the state as he waits for his sentence to be decided by a judge.
16The three former officers named by the federal grand jury also face state charges in a trial planned for August.
17They are free after paying a bond to ensure that they appear for trial.
18The charges are the result of the arrest of Floyd last year.
19The officers stopped Floyd after he was accused of trying to use false money at a store and acting unusually.
20Court evidence states that Floyd resisted being arrested.
21Chauvin then restrained Floyd on the ground with his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.
22State lawyers say that Kueng placed his knee on Floyd's back and Lane held down Floyd's legs during the arrest.
23The state lawyers also say Thao held a gathering crowd back and prevented them from intervening in the arrest.
24Eric Nelson, Chauvin's lawyer argued during his murder trial that the former officer acted reasonably in the situation.
25He said that Floyd died of existing health problems and was using drugs at the time.
26He also requested a new trial for Chauvin noting several issues.
27Among the issues was that the judge did not move the trial to another place although the incident caused violent protests in Minneapolis.
28Floyd's arrest was captured on video by many people who gathered around the arrest.
29The incident brought public anger and protests, both peaceful and violent, across the country against police use of force and racial inequality.
30I'm Mario Ritter, Jr.
1Four former police officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota last year are to face a federal civil rights trial. 2A federal grand jury has decided to bring charges against the four accusing them of violating George Floyd's constitutional rights. A grand jury is a group of citizens who study evidence to decide if there should be a trial in a legal case. The decision was made public Friday. 3Floyd died after officers restrained him on the ground during his arrest on May 25, 2020. During the arrest, Floyd repeatedly said he could not breathe in an incident which was filmed and shown all over the world. 4The charges 5Derek Chauvin is charged with violating Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force. 6Tou Thao and J. Alexander Keung are also charged with violating Floyd's right to be free from unreasonable seizure. The charging document alleges that the two did not try to stop Chauvin as he put a knee on Floyd's neck. 7All four officers, Chauvin, Keung, Thao, and Thomas Lane, are charged with failure to provide Floyd with medical care. 8Chauvin is also charged in connection with the arrest and restraint of a 14-year-old boy in 2017. 9Three of the former officers, Lane, Thao and Keung, appeared before the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis through a video link. Chauvin was not part of the court appearance. 10In April, a court in Minneapolis found Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter charges brought by the state of Minnesota. He is being held in a high security prison in the state as he waits for his sentence to be decided by a judge. 11The three former officers named by the federal grand jury also face state charges in a trial planned for August. They are free after paying a bond to ensure that they appear for trial. 12The incident 13The charges are the result of the arrest of Floyd last year. The officers stopped Floyd after he was accused of trying to use false money at a store and acting unusually. Court evidence states that Floyd resisted being arrested. 14Chauvin then restrained Floyd on the ground with his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. State lawyers say that Kueng placed his knee on Floyd's back and Lane held down Floyd's legs during the arrest. The state lawyers also say Thao held a gathering crowd back and prevented them from intervening in the arrest. 15Eric Nelson, Chauvin's lawyer argued during his murder trial that the former officer acted reasonably in the situation. He said that Floyd died of existing health problems and was using drugs at the time. He also requested a new trial for Chauvin noting several issues. Among the issues was that the judge did not move the trial to another place although the incident caused violent protests in Minneapolis. 16Floyd's arrest was captured on video by many people who gathered around the arrest. The incident brought public anger and protests, both peaceful and violent, across the country against police use of force and racial inequality. 17I'm Mario Ritter, Jr. 18Amy Forliti and Mike Balsamo reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. was the editor. 19________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21allege -v. to state without definite proof that someone has done something wrong or illegal 22indictment -n. an official written statement charging a person or persons with a crime 23bond -n. an amount of money that someone promises to pay if a prisoner who is permitted to leave jail before trial fails to return to appear for the trial 24We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.