New charges brought against police officer who killed George Floyd and 3 more officers involved to be charged

New charges have been announced against all of the sacked police officers present at the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, US and the charge against Derek Chauvin has been elevated to second-degree murder, court documents show.

The other three officers face counts of aiding and abetting murder, the documents state.

George Floyd, 46, died after Derek Chauvin, a white policeman, knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes on May 25, reigniting the explosive issue of police brutality against African Americans.

Floyd's death has sparked huge protests across the US against racism and the police killings of black Americans.

The vast majority of demonstrations over the past eight days have been peaceful, but some have turned violent and curfews have been imposed in a number of cities.

Derek Chauvin, 44 had initially faced charges of third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. These will stay on his charge sheet.

The new charge can carry a sentence of up to 40 years, 15 years longer than the maximum sentence for third-degree murder. 

The other three sacked officers are Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao. They all face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. They are now being taken into custody, and will face the same potential maximum sentence as Mr Chauvin

We are working together on this case with only one goal - justice for George Floyd, Minnesota Attorney-General Keith Ellison said at a media conference.

He thanked the Minnesota community for giving prosecutors “the time and space we needed” to investigate Mr Floyd’s death and settle on the correct charges.