Derek Chauvin, the fired Minneapolis Police Officer who knelt on George Floyd's neck before Floyd died in police custody, has been arrested, Minnesota CBS affiliate WCCO reports. John Harrington, the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, announced Friday that Chauvin was taken into custody by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Charges against Chauvin were not immediately clear. WCCO reports that answers will likely be provided by Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, as he has scheduled a press conference at 1 p.m. local time concerning a "major development" in the case. Ahead of Floyd's arrest on Monday, Chauvin had been with the Minneapolis police for 19 years. In a viral video of the arrest, in which Floyd was unarmed and was pleading with the four arresting officers that he couldn't breathe, Chauvin can be seen with his knee on Floyd's neck for at least eight minutes.
On Monday at 8 p.m., Minneapolis police said officers were called to the intersection of Chicago Avenue and East 38th Street on a report of someone trying to use a forged document at Cup Foods. Police initially said Floyd was resisting arrest and had a medical incident. However, video obtained by CBS News shows Floyd cooperating with officers, at least in the initial moments of the encounter. The aforementioned video taken by a bystander showed Floyd pleading that he could not breathe as Chauvin knee on his neck for several minutes after Floyd stopped moving and became unresponsive.
The other officers involved in the arrest were identified as Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng, both with the department for fewer than three years. All four officers were fired a day after Floyd died. At press time, none of those three officers had been reported as arrested.
As news broke of Chauvin's arrest, people took to social media to react. Several were glad the officer was finally arrested, while others argued the arrest should have taken place days ago. Some said the other three officers should be taken into custody as well.