Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is expected to plead guilty to federal civil rights charges this Wednesday.
Chauvin initially entered a not-guilty plea, but a court entry on Monday showed that a hearing was scheduled for Wednesday to change the plea, the Associated Press reported. The court system notified media outlets of the hearing and told journalists to attend.
Chauvin’s attorney Eric Nelson did not immediately return a request for comment by the AP.
Chauvin and three other officers were indicted in May for allegedly denying George Floyd’s civil rights during his arrest in May 2020. Chauvin was convicted in April of murdering Floyd during the arrest, and video of the incident, in which Chauvin could be seen pinning Floyd to the ground while Floyd loses consciousness, sparked nationwide protests and riots.
A federal indictment charges Chauvin with denying Floyd’s right to be free from excessive force by a police officer as well as from unreasonable seizure. Former officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were also charged with denying Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure, because they allegedly failed to stop Chauvin from pinning Floyd down by the neck.
Those three as well as former officer Thomas Lane were indicted for failing to provide medical care to Floyd.
The four former officers involved in Floyd’s arrest were set to stand trial on civil rights charges in January. It was not clear if Kueng, Thao, or Lane also intended to change their pleas in the case.
Source: National Review
