A federal grand jury Friday has indicted Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis officers for civil rights violations related to the death of George Floyd.
Why it matters: The new charges mean the officers could face another high-profile criminal trial following a yearlong racial reckoning across the nation.
Details: The grand jury indicted Chauvin in two cases: for kneeling on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes in May 2020 and for a similar arrest of a 14-year-old boy in 2017.
- In the latter, court documents show that Chauvin hit the teen with his flashlight before grabbing him by the throat and hitting him again, the Star Tribune reports.
- The federal indictment charges the other three ex-officers — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force.
Flashback: Chauvin was convicted on charges of murder and manslaughter in April after a month-long trial.
- Federal officials had planned to arrest him at the courthouse if the case ended in a mistrial or not guilty verdict, per Star Tribune.
- State prosecutors are seeking a tougher sentence for Chauvin following the verdict. The three other officers are set to go on trial for aiding and abetting second-degree and second-degree manslaughter in August.