George Floyd killer cop Derek Chauvin’s third-degree murder charge sparks outrage: 'He knew what he was doing'
Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey imposed a curfew on Friday, May 29, after the county prosecutor charged fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. George Floyd, an African-American man was held down by the white policeman with a knee on Monday, May 25, as he protested that he couldn't breathe.
The viral video of the incident shows Chauvin pinning down Floyd to the pavement with his knee on the man's neck for several minutes, as he continually said, "Please, please, I cannot breathe." Floyd lost consciousness and died shortly after.
Floyd’s death has reopened wounds of several other police brutality and violence cases across the U.S. and especially in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the incident took place. As a trend, police officers who have been involved in killings have managed to escape with minimal punishment.
Floyd's family and their attorney, Benjamin Crump, are reportedly upset about the charges. “We expected a first-degree murder charge. We want a first-degree murder charge. And we want to see the other officers arrested,” Crump and the family said in a statement. “We call on authorities to revise the charges to reflect the true culpability of this officer.”
On social media too, Crump’s views have resonated. Thousands have been tweeting about the arrest and the charges, and there seems to be a consensus among them about one thing: “He knew what he was doing”.
Social media users have been repeating this aforementioned phrase, implying that Chauvin was well aware of what his actions would cause. A Twitter user wrote, “Autopsy said he had his knee on his neck for almost 3 minutes after George Floyd was unresponsive. He knew what he was doing.”
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner reportedly announced on Friday that it has made “no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.”
The medical examiner suggested underlying health conditions contributed to Floyd’s death. But the autopsy noted that Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 46 seconds, and nearly three minutes after Floyd became unresponsive.
Another Twitter user, quoting the autopsy report, wrote, “‘His underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death’. He died because he couldn't breathe, he died because a knee was on his neck for 7 minutes. All he had to do was take his knee off his neck. He knew what he was doing.”
Another user wrote in all caps, “I’m so f****** mad. What part of ‘I can’t breathe I can’t breathe” cant they understand? It was pure murder and he [Chauvin] knew what he was doing. He [Floyd] didn’t resist.”
“Manslaughter? He knew what he was doing. The whole world saw that video. We know what happened. This is not third-degree murder. This is first-degree murder,” wrote another. There were many who said similar things.
Many also pointed out that this was not the first time Chauvin was involved in a violent episode during his 19-year tenure with the Minneapolis PD. According to police records, Chauvin was involved in a series of violent incidents before, which include three police shootings, and has reportedly been the subject of ten complaints filed with the city's Civilian Review Authority and the Office of Police Conduct.