Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin is expected to plead guilty to violating George Floyd’s civil rights, according to a notice sent out Monday by the court’s electronic filing system.
He has been accused of depriving Floyd’s right to be free from ‘unreasonable seizure, which includes the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer. He originally pleaded not guilty to the charges in September.
However, a hearing has been set for Wednesday, a federal docket entry shows, indicating that Chauvin will plead guilty in the case.
Chauvin was convicted in April of Minnesota state charges of murder and manslaughter at a trial for Floyd’s killing. Chauvin, who is white, was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.
The former police officer had held his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck as Floyd, who is black, repeatedly said he could not breathe. Three other former police officers helped Chauvin restrain Floyd during the May 2020 arrest.
Floyd’s arrest and death was captured by a bystander using a cellphone to video tape the incident, which caused nationwide protests calling an end to racial inequality and police mistreatment of black people in America.
Chauvin and three other former officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — were set to go to trial in late January on federal charges alleging they willfully violated Floyd’s rights.
All three have pleaded not guilty. There was no indication that the other defendants were planning on changing their pleas in the case.
The indictment said ‘the defendants saw George Floyd lying on the ground in clear need of medical care, and willfully failed to aid Floyd, thereby acting with deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of harm to Floyd.’
Evidence in the case shows that Kueng and Lane helped Chauvin restrain Floyd as he was on the ground. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back and Lane held down his legs. Thao held back bystanders and kept them from intervening in the 9 1/2 minute-long restraint.
All four officers have been charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure by not intervening to stop Chauvin as he knelt on Floyd’s neck. All four officers have also been charged for their failure to provide Floyd with medical care.
Separately, Thao, Kueng and Lane are charged in a state court with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. They have pleaded not guilty.
That trial is currently set for March 2022.
The officers were attempting to place Floyd, who was 46-years-old, under arrest on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 to buy cigarettes at a convenience store.
The change of plea hearing is scheduled for US District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Photo Credit: Getty
