Floyd family reacts to federal indictment against former Minneapolis police officers
(FOX 9) - Members of George Floyd's family reacted on Saturday after a federal indictment was filed Friday against the officers involved in his death.
Friday morning, a three-count federal indictment was unsealed, charging Derek Chauvin – who has already been convicted on murder charges in Floyd's death -- along with Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane with federal civil rights crimes.
Under the federal charges, Chauvin is accused of violating Floyd's right to be free of unreasonable force by pressing his knee into Floyd's neck during the incident. Thao and Kueng are charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force. And all four officers are charged with failing to provide medical care to Floyd.
In Houston, George Floyd's brother Rodney and nephew Brandon Williams along with their attorney Ben Crump, who helped the family reach a $27 million settlement with the City of Minneapolis in March, addressed the "significant" civil rights charges brought against the former officers.
"At the very basis of our constitution is the promise of constitutional rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and you knew, watching that video, that they had violated George Floyd's constitutional rights to life when they prevented him from taking a breath," said Crump. "When you think about this indictment, you think not just about George Floyd but other marginalized people."
"We are grateful [for the charges]," said Williams. "In other situations, you see similar things and no charges are brought. I'm going to back to the day we heard the guilty verdict [against Chauvin]. I was actually on FaceTime when the judge read the verdict with Miss Tamika Palmer, the mother of Breonna Taylor. […] She cried and she cried really hard for us."
"As the judge read the verdict, she said she was happy for us," Williams continued. "I stopped her and said, ‘You’re happy for us? No. this is a moment for America.'"
Williams added that he believes, based off the video and other evidence in the case, that it's clear the officer's violated Floyd's civil rights.
As the federal charges move forward, the trial for the remaining three officers, Thou, Kueng, and Lane, is set for this fall.