Derek Chauvin, one of the former Minneapolis police officers charged with murder in the George Floyd case, has been released on $1 million bond.
NBC News reports that the white 44-year-old ex-cop, who was filmed kneeling on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, was released on conditional release Wednesday from an Oak Park Heights, Minnesota prison. He is facing murder and manslaughter charges for his role in death of Floyd, and is expected to go on trial March 8, 2021. Chauvin could be seen in a globally-circulated video of the arrest ignoring Floyd as he told the officers he couldn't breathe.
All four officers involved in Floyd's fatal arrest have now been released on bond. The three others—J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane, and Tou Thao—previously posted bail of $750,000 each and are free awaiting trial. They will face trial together, but the judge assigned to the case is reviewing a request to have each officer tried separately.
After the video of Floyd's arrest on May 25 circulated online, protests against police brutality and systemic racism took place across the country. Each of the officers involved was terminated from the police force in response, with charges in Floyd's death arriving not long after.
If Chauvin is convicted of second-degree murder, he faces up to 40 years behind bars.
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