By Dan Browning
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
MINNEAPOLIS — Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd after he knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes on May 25, was given permission to live in Minnesota or any of four bordering states after he posted $1 million bail Wednesday.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, who is presiding over the trial of Chauvin on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges, modified his release conditions Thursday without a public hearing, citing unspecific safety concerns that were presented to him in secret.
Cahill’s order, made public Friday morning, says that Chauvin will be listed as having no permanent address but could reside in an adjacent state providing he keep a cell phone with him at all times and that he stay in touch with the Department of Corrections and other state authorities. It says Chauvin’s whereabouts would be restricted on a “need-to-know basis.”
Chauvin and his wife, Kellie Chauvin, who has filed for divorce, previously owned a home in Oakdale, but they sold that in August. He has relatives in Iowa.
Until Wednesday, Chauvin was held at a state prison in Oak Park Heights. He was the last of four former officers involved in Floyd’s death to be released pending trial, which is scheduled to begin March 8 in Hennepin County District Court. The other former officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, each are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
Floyd died following his arrest on suspicion of passing counterfeit bills at a Cup Foods store in south Minneapolis. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, at least partly because of the police apprehension and restraint methods.
The killing, captured on a bystander’s cellphone video, went viral on the internet, prompting worldwide outrage and widespread civil unrest in Minnesota and across the country.
©2020 Star Tribune (Minneapolis)