Ex-Police Officers Plead Not Guilty to Charges in George Floyd Death

Four ex-Minneapolis police officers involved in the fatal arrest of George Floyd pleaded not guilty to indictments of contravening his civil rights. (Photo: Getty Images)

The former police officers facing indictments associated with George Floyd’s Minnesota death entered not guilty pleas. J. Alexander Kueng, Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, and Thomas Lane pleaded not guilty on Tuesday.

The said former policemen were fired following the seizing of Floyd on May 25, 2020.

Years of Sentence Imposed

Chauvin, who is white, was sanctioned in state court in June to 22 and a half years in prison after hearing a jury verdict of guilty in Floyd’s murder. This was following a bystander’s phone footage displaying the Black man being held face-down with no resistance.

Floyd’s death had people calling for a change in the police and ignited demonstrations across the globe.

Through video conference, the four accused appeared remotely at the hearing.

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Unfavorable Use of Police Force

The verdict was broadly regarded as a turning point of reprimanding of the unreasonable use of police force against Black Americans.

Chauvin appeared in the footage kneeling on the handcuffed Floyd’s neck for over nine minutes during the seizing. This elicited fury globally and incited the biggest protest movement witnessed in the US in numerous years.

Chauvin appeared in the hearing from Minnesota’s maximum security jail in Oak Park Heights where he is conducting his sentence for the murder of Floyd.

According to the arraignment, Chauvin stripped off Floyd of the right to be free from inadequate seizure. This involves the right to be free from the use of disproportionate force by a policeman.

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