A fired Minneapolis police officer will face a more serious murder charge and three other sacked officers will be charged as aiding and abetting in the death of an unarmed black man that triggered eight days of nationwide protest, court documents said on Wednesday.
George Floyd, 46, died after Derek Chauvin, a white policeman, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes on May 25, reigniting the explosive issue of police brutality against African Americans five months before a presidential election.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is charging Chauvin, 44, with second-degree murder in addition to the third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter charges leveled against him last week, according to court documents.
The new charge can carry a sentence of up to 40 years, 15 years longer than the maximum sentence for third-degree murder.
Also read: George Floyd killing | Protesters defy curfews, march across U.S.
The other three former officers who were involved in the incident – Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao – face charges of aiding and abetting murder and arrest warr