Tag: J. Alexander Kueng

Derek Chauvin, 3 former officers indicted on federal civil rights charges

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A federal grand jury Friday has indicted Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis officers for civil rights violations related to the death of George Floyd.

Why it matters: The new charges mean the officers could face another high-profile criminal trial following a yearlong racial reckoning across the nation.

Details: The grand jury indicted Chauvin in two cases: for kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes in May 2020 and for a similar arrest of a 14-year-old boy in 2017.  Continue reading.

Feds plan to indict Chauvin, other three ex-officers on civil rights charges

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Ex-cop would face federal charges in two cases; three others just in Floyd case. 

Leading up to Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, Justice Department officials had spent months gathering evidence to indict the ex-Minneapolis police officer on federal police brutality charges, but they feared the publicity frenzy could disrupt the state’s case.

So they came up with a contingency plan: If Chauvin were found not guilty on all counts or the case ended in a mistrial, they would arrest him at the courthouse, according to sources familiar with the planning discussions.

The backup plan would not be necessary. On April 20, the jury found Chauvin guilty on all three murder and manslaughter counts, sending him to the state’s most secure lockdown facility to await sentencing, and avoiding the riots many feared could engulf the city once again. Continue reading.

Video: Weeks before pinning George Floyd, three of the same officers roughly detained the wrong man

The video from May 3, 2020, bears striking similarities to footage showing three of the same officers — Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng — aggressively detaining Floyd. 

Three weeks before he planted his knee on George Floyd’s neck, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin responded to a report of a woman being held hostage by armed men in a South Side apartment.

Along with officers Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Luis Realivasquez, Chauvin marched into the building as a Black man named Adrian Drakeford walked out. Drake­ford was carrying an object the officers later said they thought to be a knife. Without a word, they tackled him to the ground outside the apartment building.

His brother Lee Drakeford started recording with his cellphone as he and Adrian’s girlfriend, Kamaria Layton, pleaded that the officers were making a mistake. Continue reading.

Minnesota charges three more former officers in George Floyd case

Axios logoMinnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Wednesday elevated charges against the former officer seen kneeling on George Floyd’s neck to second-degree murder, and also charged the three other former officers who were present with aiding and abetting murder, according to court documents.

Why it matters: Members of Floyd’s family and protesters across the country have demanded charges against all four officers on scene during his death.

  • Derek Chauvin, the former officer seen kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, was originally charged last week with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
  • The three other former officers charged on Wednesday are Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng. Continue reading.

Derek Chauvin in custody; other officers lay low

As the Twin Cities enter an anxious and uncertain weekend, fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is in custody and accused of murder, while the three other ex-officers present at George Floyd’s fatal arrest are keeping an extremely low profile.

Tou Thao, videotaped watching as Chauvin continued to press on Floyd’s neck with his knee, has left Minnesota, his lawyer confirmed Friday. Criminal defense attorney Robert Paule said Thao is “safely elsewhere” and that he couldn’t comment further.

J Alexander Kueng, one of the two first officers at the scene who helped pin Floyd down, is believed to be staying with family in Minneapolis. Thomas K. Lane has left and didn’t tell anyone where he was going, a relative said Friday. Continue reading.