$1 Million Bail Set For Officer Charged With Floyd’s Death

A judge ruled to keep bail at $1 million for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with second-degree murder in the case of George Floyd, who died while in police custody.

Chauvin appeared via closed-circuit television before Hennepin County Judge Jeannice M. Reding for an 11-minute hearing from Minnesota’s maximum-security prison Monday, The Associated Press reported. The hearing gave Chauvin an opportunity to argue the raised bail, however his attorney Eric Nelson did not challenge the bail and did not address the charges.

Floyd died on May 25 after Chauvin knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes, video showed, as Floyd expressed that he couldn’t breathe. Floyd’s death sparked protests and riots across the nation. Chauvin and the three rookie officers were fired the day after his death.

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Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and has not entered a plea, the AP reported. His next appearance is set for June 29 at 1:30 p.m., according to the AP.

The three other officers who were at the scene, J. Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, according to the AP. The attorneys for two of the three ex-officers charged said at individual first appearances that the rookie ex-officers attempted to “verbally help Floyd,” but were required to defer to Chauvin because he was the most senior officer at the scene.

The ex-rookie officers are held on $750,000 bails at the Hennepin County Jail, the AP reported. If convicted, the ex-officers would face a maximum penalty of up to 40 years in prison, the same as Chauvin.