The police officer who held down George Floyd by his neck, resulting in his death earlier this week, has been arrested and charged with murder.
Officer Derek Chauvin was taken into custody by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Friday, Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington states, per CBS News. Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
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Floyd, a black man living in Minnesota, died after Officer Chauvin held him down by the neck with his knee for more than seven minutes when he was arrested for suspicion of forgery outside a deli. Following Floyd's death, Chauvin and three other officers involved were fired earlier this week for their roles in the incident, CBS News reports. The FBI is taking part in the investigation.
The arrest comes after protests broke out in the city, as well as across the nation, as a result of Floyd's death. Earlier in the day, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was arrested live on-air. Jimenez was reporting a live segment for the network's show, New Day, before police approached him and his crew. They were eventually released and Jimenez went back on-air, explaining that he and his crew were arrested after they changed their position in order to move out of the way of the police.
Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian West, Cardi B and more stars have been speaking out about the tragic incident, as well as attempting to raise awareness for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Taraji P. Henson even got visibly emotional during an interview with CNN while talking about mental health amid the coronavirus pandemic and Floyd's death.
"It's just like, it won't let up, you know? It's like I'm trying to stop a bleeding wound and it just keeps bleeding, you know? But I'm raising money to help those who can't," Henson said through tears. "It's tragic and it's traumatizing. And I mean, at this point it seems like we have to save ourselves."
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