George Floyd death: US police officer who knelt on unarmed back man charged with murder

A former US police officer has been charged with murder following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd.

Video footage showed Derek Chauvin kneeling on the neck of Mr Floyd, 46, who died after pleading that he could not breathe in Minneapolis, Minesota.

Chauvin is one of four officers who were fired from the city's police department following Mr Floyd's death on Monday.

He was detained on Friday and later charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman confirmed.

"He is in custody and has been charged with murder," Mr Freeman told a press briefing.

"We have evidence, we have the citizen's camera's video, the horrible, horrific, terrible thing we have all seen over and over again, we have the officer's body-worn camera, we have statements from some witnesses."

He added that the investigation into Chauvin who, if convicted, faces up to 25 years in prison, was ongoing and that he anticipated charges against the other officers.

He said it was appropriate to charge "the most dangerous perpetrator" first.

The arrest comes after three days of protests, which escalated in violence as demonstrators torched a police station that had been abandoned by officers.

Donald Trump fuelled the flames on Friday, calling protesters outraged by Mr Floyd's death "thugs".

"When the looting starts, the shooting starts," the US president wrote in a tweet that was quickly flagged by Twitter as violating rules against "glorifying violence."

The White House said the president "did not glorify violence. He clearly condemned it."

Mr Trump, in his tweets, borrowed a phrase once used by former Miami Police Chief Walter Headley in a 1967 speech outlining his department's efforts to "combat young hoodlums who have taken advantage of the civil rights campaign."

In the speech, Mr Headley said his department had been successful "because I've let the word filter down that when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

"We don't mind being accused of police brutality," he said in the same speech, according to news reports from the time.

The White House did not respond to questions about where Trump had heard the phrase and what he meant by it, except to insist he was condemning violence.

But criticism was swift.

"It's not helpful," Minnesota's Democratic Governor Tim Walz said during a news briefing on Friday. "Anything we do to add fuel to that fire is really, really challenging."

Kentucky's Democratic Governor Andy Beshear called on Mr Trump to retract it.

"During these times, we can condemn violence while also trying to listen, to understand, to know that there is deep frustration, rightfully so, in our country - that there has not been enough action on creating equality, opportunity, and in health care, and in a time of this COVID-19 epidemic, it's laid bare all of that," he told CNN.

And Jeffery Robinson, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Trone Center for Justice and Equality, said Mr Trump's message was "hypocritical, immoral, and illegal."

During the press conference, Mr Walz called for swift justice for the officers involved.

Mr Walz said the state would take over the response to the protests and that it is time to show respect and dignity to those who are suffering.

"Minneapolis and St. Paul are on fire. The fire is still smouldering in our streets. The ashes are symbolic of decades and generations of pain, of anguish unheard," Mr Walz said.

"Now generations of pain is manifesting itself in front of the world - and the world is watching."

The Minnesota State Patrol arrested a CNN television crew early on Friday as journalists reported on the unrest.

While live on air, CNN reporter Omar Jimenez was handcuffed and led away. A producer and a photojournalist for CNN were also taken away in handcuffs.

All three were subsequently released, but not before the incident was widely condemned.

Protests first erupted on Tuesday, a day after Mr Floyd's death.

Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing members of Mr Floyd's family, called for an independent investigation, and said he asked to take custody of Mr Floyd's body to have an independent autopsy performed.

Mr Crump said any talk of a heart condition or asthma was irrelevant because Mr Floyd was walking and breathing before his contact with police.

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