Ex-cop charged in George Floyd’s death posts bond on $1 million bail [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• On Wednesday, former Minneapolis Police Department officer Derek Chauvin was released after paying a bond of $1 million bail.
• Chauvin, who was caught on video kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for about 8 minutes, is scheduled for a March 8 court appearance.
• He faces multiple murder charges in relation to George Floyd’s death on May 25.

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who faces murder charges in the death of George Floyd, was released from custody on Wednesday after posting bond on a $1 million bail according to court records.

“I can confirm he is no longer in our custody,” said Sarah Fitzgerald, Minnesota Department of Corrections spokeswoman.

Chauvin was released from Oak Park Heights Correctional Facility, east of Minneapolis, just after 11 am.

The Hennepin County Jail roster reports that Chauvin’s release from the Oak Park Heights Correctional Facility after 11 a.m. was conditional, although the specifics were not immediately released.

A notice of appearance indicates that he is slated to appear in court on March 8.

While it’s unclear who paid the bond or how much, Minnesota law allows bondsmen to charge up to 10% of the bail amount which in this case, is $100,000.

A spokesman for the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which keeps a legal defense fund, confirmed that they did not provide the payment. The Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment.

Chauvin faces multiple counts of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the cruel May 25 killing of Floyd.

Video footage that captured Chauvin’s actions showed him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost eight minutes despite Floyd, who was already in handcuffs, telling him and three other officers that he couldn’t breathe.

Prosecutors contend that Floyd’s killing was very cruel.

“Despite Mr. Floyd’s pleas that he could not breathe and was going to die, as well as the pleas of eyewitnesses to get off Mr. Floyd and help him, (the) defendant and his co-defendants continued to restrain Mr. Floyd,” they wrote.

If Chauvin and his fellow officers are convicted, prosecutors wrote that they need to see stricter sentencing than what is allowed in the recommended guidelines.

Court documents also revealed that Chauvin asked a judge to dismiss the charges against him in August, claiming there is no probable cause to support them.

All four police officers were dismissed from their jobs. Three other MPD policemen namely, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Kiernan Lane, and Tou Thao, were also charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. All three also filed motions to have the charges dismissed.

Floyd’s death prompted nationwide and international outrage with activists taking to the streets to condemn police brutality and racial injustice.

Source: CNN.com