Two police officers involved in Floyd’s fatal arrest have other complaint records [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• According to the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) internal affairs, Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck which believed to have caused his death, had 18 prior complaints filed against him.
• Meanwhile, Tou Thao, another officer involved in Floyd’s brutal arrest, received six complaints against him.
• The two other officers involved had no prior complaints filed against them.

Derek Chauvin — the police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck for about seven minutes which was believed to have caused his death — had been charged with 18 prior complaints according to the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) internal affairs. 

MPD did not provide any additional information regarding the complaints against Chauvin. He was fired this week, along with the three other MPD officers who were involved in the fatal arrest of Floyd.

Out of the 18 complaints against Chauvin, only two were “closed with discipline” based on the summary provided by the MPD internal affairs.

Tou Thao, another officer involved in Floyd’s case, had six complaints filed against him as disclosed by the MPD. According to the internal affairs, five complaints had been closed without discipline while the other one is still open.

A settlement document obtained by CNN and a plaintiff’s attorney stated that Thao had another excessive force lawsuit case which was settled in 2017.

The plaintiff, Lamar Ferguson, said in his complaint that he had been physically beaten-up by Thao and another officer when he was arrested in October 2014.

Thao used “unreasonable force” which included punches, kicks and knees to the face and body while Ferguson was handcuffed and defenseless. Ferguson then suffered broken teeth, bruising and trauma.

The two other officers involved had no complaint records filed against them, as confirmed by the MPD.

CNN has requested for comment from the lawyers of the four officers but hasn’t gotten any response so far.

In the video footage that went viral online this week, Floyd, the 46-year-old black man, pleaded to the four officers that “he’s in pain” and “couldn’t breathe.” He was unarmed and handcuffed.

His death triggered public outrage and violent protests, and called for the arrest of Chauvin, Thao and the other two police officers.

Source: CNN.com