via KARE 11
Freeman said they focused on the "most dangerous" perpetrator first, but that he anticipates charges against the other three officers as well.
MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Chauvin is charged with third degree murder, but they are continuing to review evidence and there may be subsequent charges later.
Freeman said they focused on the "most dangerous" perpetrator first, but the other three officers involved in Floyd's arrest are under investigation and he anticipates charges against them as well.
Multiple sources confirmed to KARE 11 that Chauvin was the officer seen on video with his knee on Floyd's neck while Floyd was pleading, "I can't breathe."
"This is by far the fastest we've ever charged a police officer," Freeman said, referring to the video as "horrible, horrific, terrible."
He said that in addition to that bystander video, they have officers' body-worn cameras, witness statements, the preliminary Medical Examiner's report, and expert opinions as evidence.
"Normally these cases take nine months to a year," Freeman said. "We have to charge these cases very carefully because we have the difficult burden of proof."
When asked whether public unrest factored into the speed, Freeman said, "I’m not insensitive to what’s happened in the streets."
But he maintained that his job is to charge when his office has "sufficient evidence."
"I will not allow us to charge a case before it is ready," Freeman said. "This case is now ready, and we have charged it."
Freeman said that the charges are the same ones levied against former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor in the death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond. A full complaint is expected to be released Friday afternoon.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey issued a statement in response to the charges Friday, saying, "We are a nation at a crossroad, and today’s decision from the County Attorney is an essential first step on a longer road toward justice and healing our city."
“What’s happened in Minneapolis is bigger than any one city and any single event,” said Frey. “For our Black community who have, for centuries, been forced to endure injustice in a world simply unwilling to correct or acknowledge it: I know that whatever hope you feel today is tempered with skepticism and a righteous outrage."
Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington announced earlier Friday during a different news conference that Chauvin had been arrested. The BCA confirms that he was taken into custody at 11:44 a.m. Friday in Minneapolis.
Governor Tim Walz held a news conference at 10:30 a.m. after another night of violence and looting in Minneapolis and St. Paul, as protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody devolved into riots.
Walz said he received a call from State Sen. Patricia Torres Ray Thursday that District 63 was burning, and there were no police officers or Minnesota National Guard troops to help.
“That is an abject failure that cannot happen," Walz said. "We must restore that order.”
Harrington said that national guard troops were called in to help Thursday, but they did not receive a “specific mission” to help clear the streets until midnight, on a call with the mayor. Harrington said Minneapolis Mayor Frey informed them they had "no more resources" and they were not able to meet public safety needs on Lake Street.
"When the Third Precinct was abandoned, it seemed that that was the time to move," Gov. Walz said.
They then had to get a plan together, Harrington said. By the time they brought state patrol, Minnesota National Guard, and other assisting crews to Lake Street, he said it was 3 a.m. They arrested some people at that time and for other looting incidents throughout the day, Harrington said, but he did not have numbers on how many. He said most people left peacefully.
Harrington said the people who were out at that hour were not the people of Minneapolis “who are still having their guts ripped out about the Floyd murder.”
“I don’t want to prejudice this,” he said regarding using the term “murder.” “I’m just calling it like I see it.”
“I can tell you that no one could have heard Mr. Floyd’s voice in the chaos of the screaming and the shouting and the fires at 1 o’clock in the morning on Lake Street,” he said. “My job is to make sure the community is safe and the team is ready and prepared to keep it safe.”