Minneapolis cop seen kneeling on George Floyd charged with murder

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Protesters cheer as fireworks are lit and multiple fires burn Thursday night near an abandoned police precinct in Minneapolis as part of reaction to the death of George Floyd. Photo by Craig Lassig/EPA-EFE
Protesters burn the Minneapolis Police Department Third Precinct on Thursday during protests over the Minneapolis arrest of George Floyd. Photo by Tannen Maury/EPA-EFE
A police officer stands guard Thursday as demonstrations protesting the death of George Floyd expand in Minnesota. Photo by Craig Lassig/EPA-EFE
New York City police officers arrest Black Lives Matter protesters at Union Square on Thursday. Protests continued in Minneapolis and in other cities over the death of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis police. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Black Lives Matter protesters clash with police officers at Union Square in New York City on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
A photo of George Floyd was placed among the flowers and candles Wednesday at a makeshift memorial near the scene of the of Floyd's arrest in Minneapolis. Photo by Craig Lassig/EPA-EFE

May 29 (UPI) -- A former Minneapolis police officer seen kneeling on the neck of George Floyd before he died during an arrest this week has been charged with murder, Minnesota prosecutors said Friday.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced that Derek Chauvin had been charged with third-degree murder in connection with Floyd's Monday death.

Floyd was pronounced dead after the arrest on suspicion of using a counterfeit bill at a grocery store. Video of the African-American man gasping for breath as the white police officer kneeled on the back of his neck for several minutes quickly circulated online, igniting a three-day wave of protests and rioting in the Twin Cities and elsewhere in the country.

Chauvin was taken into custody earlier Friday by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Freeman said prosecutors were still reviewing the evidence and indicated there could be further charges brought against Chauvin.

He and three other officers involved in Floyd's death were fired from the Minneapolis Police Department shortly after the video was released. Freeman said investigations of the others were ongoing.

"We felt it appropriate to focus on the most dangerous perpetrator," he said, adding that his office has never before brought murder charges within only a four-day time span.

Among the evidence against Chauvin, he said, was the citizen's video, the officers' body cameras, witness statements, a preliminary medical examiner's report and expert testimony.