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In Minneapolis, George Floyd is ubiquitous almost a year after his death
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Jim Mone / dpa
In the United States, the four police officers who were involved in the fatal arrest of George Floyd have now also been tried in federal court.
According to the US Department of Justice, the men are accused of deliberately violating Floyd's constitutional rights.
The indictment names, among other things, Derek Chauvin, who held Floyd's knee for nine and a half minutes.
In April, Minnesota juries found Chauvin guilty on several counts, including second degree murder.
According to the new indictment, Chauvin violated Floyd's constitutional right to be "free from the improper use of force by a police officer."
His actions would have led to Floyd's death less than a year ago.
Two of the three co-defendants were accused of deliberately failing to intervene.
The three co-defendants, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, would also have to answer for failure to provide assistance, it said.
All four defendants are alleged to have deprived Floyd of his liberty without due process.
In a separate indictment, Chauvin is also charged with violating the rights of a 14-year-old who he arrested in 2017.
Another lawsuit for aiding and abetting
Kueng, Lane and Thao are charged in another Minneapolis trial on charges, among others, of accessory to second degree murder.
Your trial is scheduled to begin in late August.
Federal charges could result in additional prison terms regardless of state convictions.
In order to be convicted, prosecutors must prove that the officers knew that they were wrong at the time of arrest.
Bad judgment or simple negligence is not enough to justify a federal conviction.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020 in a police operation in Minneapolis.
Videos of the operation caused outrage on social networks and in some cases triggered violent protests in the USA against racism and police violence.
There were demonstrations in other countries as well.
hba / AP / dpa