New charges for all four sacked officers over killing of George Floyd
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New charges have been announced against all of the sacked police officers present at the death of African American George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The charge against Derek Chauvin has been elevated to second-degree murder, court documents show.
The other three officers, previously uncharged, face counts of aiding and abetting murder.
Floyd’s death has sparked huge protests across the US against racism and the police killings of black Americans.
A protester faces off with New York City Police during a demonstration over the arrest in Minnesota of George Floyd, who later died in police custody, in New York , New York, USA. EPA-EFE/JUSTIN LANE
The vast majority of demonstrations over the past eight days have been peaceful, but some have turned violent and curfews have been imposed in a number of cities.
Announcing the new charges, Minnesota’s Attorney General Keith Ellison said that they were in the interests of justice.
Derek Chauvin had initially faced charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. These will stay on his charge sheet.
The other three sacked officers are Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao. They all face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Meanwhile, former US Defence Secretary James Mattis has denounced President Donald Trump, accusing him of stoking division and abusing his authority.
In rare public comments, Mr Mattis said the president had sought to “divide” the American people and had failed to provide “mature leadership”.
He said he was “angry and appalled” by Mr Trump’s handling of recent unrest.
Mr Mattis resigned in 2018 after the president decided to withdraw US troops from Syria.
He has remained largely silent since then, until his stinging rebuke of the Trump administration was published in The Atlantic magazine on Wednesday.
In apparent response to the criticism, Mr Trump posted a series of tweets in which he said Mr Mattis was “the world’s most overrated general”.
“I didn’t like his “leadership” style or much else about him, and many others agree,” he said. “Glad he is gone!”
