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AFP
Minneapolis
US protesters welcomed new charges brought on Wednesday against Minneapolis officers in the killing of African American man George Floyd -- but thousands still marched in cities across the country for a ninth straight night, chanting against racism and police brutality.
With a key demand met, demonstrators nevertheless staged large and mainly peaceful rallies calling for deeper change in cities from New York to Los Angeles, hours after the new indictments were announced.
In Minnesota, prosecutors had initially charged 44-year-old Derek Chauvin -- the white officer filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes -- with third-degree murder.
But they said on Wednesday they were upgrading the charge, roughly akin to manslaughter, to second-degree murder, which does not involve premeditation but carries stiffer penalties.
Chauvin’s three colleagues at the scene of Floyd’s May 25 arrest for allegedly seeking to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit bill are accused of being complicit in the killing.
Tou Thao, 34, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Thomas Lane, 37, were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and taken into custody.
The arrest of all four officers has been a focus for tens of thousands of protesters who have marched the streets of dozens of US cities, often defying curfews to condemn police brutality and demand racial justice.
Minneapolis
US protesters welcomed new charges brought on Wednesday against Minneapolis officers in the killing of African American man George Floyd -- but thousands still marched in cities across the country for a ninth straight night, chanting against racism and police brutality.
With a key demand met, demonstrators nevertheless staged large and mainly peaceful rallies calling for deeper change in cities from New York to Los Angeles, hours after the new indictments were announced.
In Minnesota, prosecutors had initially charged 44-year-old Derek Chauvin -- the white officer filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes -- with third-degree murder.
But they said on Wednesday they were upgrading the charge, roughly akin to manslaughter, to second-degree murder, which does not involve premeditation but carries stiffer penalties.
Chauvin’s three colleagues at the scene of Floyd’s May 25 arrest for allegedly seeking to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit bill are accused of being complicit in the killing.
Tou Thao, 34, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, and Thomas Lane, 37, were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and taken into custody.
The arrest of all four officers has been a focus for tens of thousands of protesters who have marched the streets of dozens of US cities, often defying curfews to condemn police brutality and demand racial justice.
