Mayor: Officer who put knee on man's neck should be charged

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The mayor of Minneapolis called for charges to be filed against the white police officer who pressed his knee into the neck of a black man during an arrest, even after the man stopped moving.

Mayor Jacob Frey said Wednesday that Derek Chauvin should be criminally charged in connection with Monday's death of George Floyd.

"Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?," Mayor Frey stated in the press conference.

Chauvin and three other officers were fired Tuesday.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, police were in the area to investigate reports of forgery when they found Floyd, who matched the suspect's description, sitting in his car.

Bystander video showed Floyd pleading that he could not breathe.

His death prompted protests, and police used tear gas and projectiles after some protesters began damaging a police station.