Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who caused the death of George Floyd by kneeling on his neck, had used the restraint many times in the past, according to court documents filed by the prosecutors in the case against the officers involved in his death, the Associated Press reports.
Prosecutors documented seven times when Chauvin used the restraint, including four times Chauvin held the position “beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances.” In one case, Chauvin kicked a drunken man in the stomach and then knelt on his neck until he passed out.
Chauvin and three other officers responded to a call May 25th in which George Floyd was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. The officers restrained Floyd in handcuffs and put him face down on the pavement. Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. Floyd was pronounced dead later that day.
Floyd’s death was the first in a string of police killings of Black people that prompted demonstrations around the country.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and other crimes; Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting.