Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd, had been negotiating a plea deal with prosecutors before his arrest, a new report reveals.
Sources told Minneapolis' Fox 9 that Chauvin had been considering a "universal deal" with state and federal prosecutors that would have included state murder charges and federal civil rights charges.
Those involved negotiations, which were taking place four days after Floyd died, played a role in delaying the news conference announcing the plans from Hennepin County prosecutors. Once the delayed news conference began, U.S. Attorney Erika MacDonald told the media “we can’t rush this” in regards to charges for all four officers involved with Floyd’s arrest.
“I thought we would have another development to talk to you about, but we don’t,” MacDonald said at the start of the delayed news conference in front of the FBI’s Brooklyn Park Headquarters. “This needs to be done right. Please give me and ... the United States attorney time to do this right and we will bring you justice.”
No details were provided about what the charges would have been if the plea deal was successful.
At that time, MacDonald also explained that officers “have the authority to use a certain amount of force when executing duties.” Though she said the case was a “top priority,” no charges were announced during that news conference.
In a statement, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office confirmed the discussion of a plea bargain.
"There were early negotiations with the defendant (Derek Chauvin), between the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, and the U.S. Attorney," said Hennepin County Attorney spokesperson Chuck Laszewski in a statement to the Fox 9 investigators.
With those negotiations failing, Chauvin had been charged with third-degree murder. His charge later was upgraded to second-degree murder. Additionally, the other three officers involved, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Many considered the delay in charges for Chauvin and the fellow officers to be justice delayed. That delay might have fueled the violent, ravaging protests that occurred the night of MacDonald’s news conference and several nights after that.
Thousands across the country and globe spent the last two weeks rallying to ensure the proper charges were imposed upon the officers and contest the dozens of other deaths of black people in police custody.
Floyd, a 46-year-old former bouncer, died May 25 after Chauvin, a white police officer, put his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement, gasping that he couldn’t breathe.
Chauvin and the other former officers could get up to 40 years in prison.
During one of Floyd’s services, the Rev. Al Sharpton spoke about why his death had sparked such a need for a movement to “change the whole system of justice.”
“Time is out for not holding you accountable! Time is out for you making excuses! Time is out for you trying to stall! Time is out for empty words and empty promises! Time is out for you filibustering and trying to stall the arm of justice!” he said.
About the Author
