By Aaron Miller-
The former Minneapolis police officer charged with murdering George Floyd has been released from prison after posting a 1 million dollar bail.
Derek Chauvin posted the bond on Wednesday, and the was released from custody at the state’s facility in Oak Park Heights, where he had been detained.
Chauvin, 44, is facing murder and manslaughter charges after video showed him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about eight minutes during an arrest on May 25. He was released Wednesday on a conditional release and is expected to appear in court in March of next year, according to his notice of release filed in court.
Mr Floyd, died on May 25 after Chauvin- a white officer, pressed his knee against his neck for several minutes as Mr Floyd said he could not breathe.
His death was captured on video and circulated globally, setting off protests around the world , many of which got out of hand.
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and other crimes. Thomas Lane, J Kueng and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting.
The other three officers previously posted bail amounts of 750,000 dollars and are also free, awaiting trial. Currently, all four men are scheduled to face trial together in March but the judge is assessing a request to have them tried separately.
Four officers were terminated from the department and charged in Floyd’s death, which sparked protests over racial injustice across the globe. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter . He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of second-degree murder.
The other three officers — Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng — have been charged with aiding and abetting murder as well as aiding and abetting manslaughter.
Multiple videos were released on Floyd’s arrest, with one showing him pinned down by three different officers near a patrol car while a fourth stands near his head.
Floyd’s death was ruled a homicide by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, which listed Floyd’s cause of death on May 25 as a “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.”
The county autopsy also stated other “significant” conditions that may have contributed to his death, including hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl intoxication and recent methamphetamine use.
An examination funded by Floyd’s family came to a different conclusion. The private autopsy found that police officers’ pressing on his neck and body cut blood and air flow to his brain, causing him to die by mechanical asphyxia, according to pathologists hired by the family.