The Minnesota
police officer filmed kneeling on the neck of a man who later died in custody has been arrested.
George Floyd’s death on Monday night in Minneapolis has sparked violent
protests across the US, pitting
protesters against police in a number of major cities.
Video taken by a bystander showed the 46-year-old pleading that he could not breathe as a white officer, later named as Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck.
Minnesota’s public safety commissioner announced Chauvin had been taken into custody on Friday evening.Derek Chauvin has now officially been taken into custody, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He is the officer seen with his knee on George Floyd’s neck. #GeorgeFloyd— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) May 29, 2020Earlier on Friday, Minnesota governor Tim Walz called for an end to the violent protests that have rocked Minneapolis and said the state’s National Guard would work to restore order following three nights of arson, looting and vandalism.
Walz also said he expected “swift” justice for the officers involved and promised a reckoning with the racial inequities behind the unrest triggered by Floyd’s death.
This is a
BREAKING news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost
UK on
Twitter here, and on
Facebook here.Related... Police Arrest
CNN Reporter And Crew Covering Minneapolis Protests Live On Air Twitter Hits Trump With ‘Glorifying Violence’ Warning After President Attacks Minneapolis Protesters