MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Minnesota authorities say the police officer who knelt on George Floyd has been arrested. Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said Friday that state investigators arrested Derek Chauvin.
Chauvin is the white officer who was seen on video kneeling on the neck of Floyd, a handcuffed black man. The arrest comes after three days of protests, which escalated in violence as demonstrators torched a police precinct that had been abandoned by officers.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday acknowledged the “abject failure” of the response to this week’s violent protests.
Walz said the state would take over the response and that it’s time to show respect and dignity to those who are suffering.
