George Floyd death: Derek Chauvin was in talks to reach plea deal just days before his arrest but it 'fell apart'
The former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, charged with second-degree murder in George Floyd's death, was in talks with prosecutors over a possible guilty plea deal before he was arrested, according to reports. Chauvin was negotiating the deal nearly four days after Floyd died and a day before he was arrested.
Four Minneapolis police officers allegedly involved in Floyd's brutal death were fired on May 26 after a video of the incident went viral on social media. The footage showed Floyd pleading with officers as one of them, Chauvin, knelt on his neck while the 46-year-old told them to let him stand because he could not breathe. The clip showed Floyd pleading with the officer to allow him to breathe and a few minutes later he became unconscious. Floyd's death has sparked massive protests and unrest in Minneapolis and across the country. Chauvin, within days, was arrested and charged with murder.
Reports state that the former officer's plea deal would have included state murder charges and federal civil rights charges. The talks for a plea deal were confirmed by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in a statement.
"There were early negotiations with the defendant (Derek Chauvin), between the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, and the U.S. Attorney. Ultimately, those negotiations failed," the statement said.
In his first court appearance on Monday, June 8, Chauvin's unconditional bail amount was raised to $1.25 million. The former officer made his first court appearance through a video feed, handcuffed, wearing a blue mask and dressed in an orange jumpsuit. The prosecutor in the case, Matthew Frank, had asked Circuit Court Judge Jeannice Reding to raise his bail arguing the "severity of the charges" made the former officer a possible flight risk. There were no objections from Chauvin and his lawyer, Eric Nelton, to the bail amount. The 44-year-old former officer faces charged of second-degree murder without intent, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin, in the past week, has spent his time in segregation from the general population at a maximum-security prison in Minnesota.
Chauvin, similar to his fellow officers arrested in Floyd's killing, was offered a reduced bail of $1 million if he agrees to certain conditions, including not working in security or law enforcement, not leaving Minnesota, and surrendering all firearms and permits. Judge Reding said that if Chauvin posts bail, his release would be supervised.
"The defendant placed his knee on Mr. Floyd's neck for approximately nine minutes," Frank said. "The death of Mr. Floyd has had a strong reaction in the community, to put it mildly."
The other three officers involved in Floyd's killing, Chauvin’s former colleagues, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao have also been arrested and charged as accomplices. They were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and are currently in Hennepin County jail on $1 million bail without conditions or $750,000 bail with conditions. Their next scheduled court appearance is on June 29.
Floyd's final funeral service, was held on June 8 at The Fountain of Praise church in Houston, where a six-hour public viewing was held as thousands came to pay their respects. The service was addressed by former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden through through a video.