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Politics

Grand jury expenses Minneapolis cops with civil rights violations

This combination of photos, provided by the Hennepin County Minnesota Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday June 3, 2020, shows Derek Chauvin from left, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao. Chauvin is charged with the murder of George Floyd, second degree, a black man who died after being detained by him and other Minneapolis police officers on May 25th. Kueng, Lane and Thao were accused of helping and assisting Chauvin.

Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office | AP

Former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin listens to a jury found guilty of second degree murder, third degree murder and second degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States on April 20, 2021 found in a still image from video.

Pool via Reuters

Federal prosecution accuses Chauvin, who held his knee on or around the neck of a handcuffed and recumbent Floyd for more than nine minutes, killing the 46-year-old while violating his right before the use of inappropriate force officer to be protected by a police force.

It also accuses two of Chauvin’s colleagues – Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng – of “deliberately” failing to intervene to prevent Chauvin from using unreasonable force, a failure that also led to Floyd’s death.

All three ex-officers, along with the fourth, Thomas Lane, are accused of causing Floyd to die by deliberately failing to help him when they saw Floyd “lying on the floor clearly in need of medical attention”.

Floyd was arrested by police on suspicion of using a counterfeit invoice in a purchase.

In the separate federal indictment related to his arrest of the 14-year-old, Chauvin is also charged with holding his knee by the boy’s neck and upper back, even after the teenager was “prone, handcuffed and unopposed”.

“This crime resulted in bodily harm to the boy,” the prosecution said.

Chauvin, whose actions against the boy were caught on camera, responded to a call from a woman who said her son and daughter assaulted her, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. The Star Tribune also reported that Chauvin repeatedly hit the boy in the head with his flashlight after the boy refused to get off the floor and then choked the boy unconscious with his knee.

The federal criminal charges are separate from a US Department of Justice investigation into the practices of the Minneapolis Police Department announced by Attorney General Merrick Garland the day after Chauvin was convicted.

Garland said the probe will assess whether the MPD “has a pattern or practice of using excessive force, including during protests”.

The Star Tribune reported last week that following the state jury rulings against Chauvin, prosecutors ordered a grand jury in the Minnesota District Court to indict Chauvin and the other three police officers involved in the arrest of Floyd. The newspaper had also reported that federal authorities wanted to indict Chauvin over the 14-year-old case.

Chauvin, an 18-year-old police veteran, is due to be tried in June.

His attorneys appealed earlier this week, arguing that public relations work on the case last year violated Chauvin’s right to a fair trial. The appeal also said the trial judge wrongly failed to grant a defense motion attempting to bring Chauvin to justice outside of Minneapolis.

All four ex-cops are charged in the new federal indictment of deprivation of rights under the color of the law for “deliberately depriving George Floyd of the right to be free and protected by the Constitution and United States law, free to be safe from improper seizure, which includes the right to be exempt from the use of improper force by a police officer. “

One of the counts, directed exclusively to Chauvin, is that the cop kept his left knee over Floyd’s neck and his right knee over Floyd’s back and arm, and kept his knees on Floyd’s neck and body even after Floyd stopped responding. “”

“This crime resulted in the assault and death of George Floyd,” the indictment read.

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Count two of the indictment states that Thao and Keung were “aware” that Chauvin was using his knee to hold Floyd by the neck and that he continued to do so “after Floyd stopped responding.”

“The defendants deliberately failed to intervene to stop the use of inappropriate force by the defendant Chauvin,” the indictment reads. “This crime resulted in bodily harm and the death of George Floyd.”

All four officers are collectively charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights by “deliberately acting indifferent to his serious medical needs.”

“In particular, the defendants saw George Floyd lying on the floor in urgent need of medical attention and willfully fail to help Floyd, thereby deliberately acting indifferently to a significant risk of harm to Floyd,” the indictment read.

“This crime resulted in bodily harm and the death of George Floyd.”

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Business

Golfer was rushing as quick as 87 mph earlier than crash, cops say

Tiger Woods accelerated up to 87 mph – more than 45 mph above the legal limit – before its SUV crashed in southern California in late February, seriously injuring the golf legend’s leg, investigators said Wednesday.

Woods’ vehicle, a 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV, was traveling an estimated 120 mph when it hit a tree and rolled over in the luxury vehicle, citing a data recorder, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The recorder showed that the vehicle was going between 68 and 86.99 mph in some places before Woods was unable to negotiate a curve on the road just outside Los Angeles.

It was at least Wood’s third mysterious car accident.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who adamantly denied that Woods had received favorable treatment during the investigation, said the most recent accident on Feb.23 was the result of 45-year-old Woods driving unsafe given the road conditions.

At a news conference, Villanueva also said there was no evidence that Woods was impaired or drunk at Rolling Hills Estates at the time of the Feb.23 crash.

Investigators didn’t check that Woods was texting before the crash, saying it wasn’t necessary.

They also said they will not issue a quote for Woods, who is recovering at his Florida home. Issuing a reckless driving ticket would require evidence, according to investigators, that Woods committed multiple violations prior to the accident, such as: B. unsafe lane changes or unsafe overtaking maneuvers on other cars.

Woods has no memory of the collision, investigators said at the press conference.

Villanueva said he could only reveal the cause of the crash because Woods agreed to it. According to the sheriff, by law, such accident reports are confidential unless the individuals involved in the incident consent to their disclosure.

“The main cause of this traffic accident was driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and the inability to negotiate the curve of the estimated speed of the road in the first impact area was 84 to 87 mph,” said Villanueva.

According to investigators, Woods didn’t brake before crashing the car. They said the data recorder revealed that he may have accidentally stepped on the accelerator instead of the brakes prior to the collision.

“I know there are some who say he somehow received special or preferential treatment that is absolutely wrong,” said Villanueva.

“There was no sign of impairment. Our main concern when we were obviously at the scene of the collision was his, his safety.”

Villanueva said there was no likely cause such as open alcohol containers or signs of narcotics in the car that would have allowed investigators to obtain a search warrant to test Woods’ blood for intoxicants.

In a statement released later on Wednesday, Woods did not apologize for driving nearly double the legal speed limit.

Instead, Woods said he was “so grateful to the two good Samaritans who came to help me and called 911” after his SUV was ready.

“I am also grateful to the LASD MPs and the LA Firefighter / Paramedics, especially the LA Sheriff’s Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, and the LAFD Engine Co. # 106, the Fire Paramedics Smith and Gimenez, for being so competent on the spot helped and got me safely to the hospital. “”

“I will continue to focus on my recovery and my family and thank everyone for the overwhelming support and encouragement I have received during this very difficult time,” said Woods.

The golfer, who was alone in the SUV, was trapped in the wreckage that occurred after hitting a mean mean on the road and then raced into the brush and hit just before 7:12 a.m. PT on Feb.23 a tree.

After being freed from the vehicle, Woods was taken to a hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, which a doctor at the time described as “major orthopedic injuries” to his right lower leg.

A rod was introduced to stabilize his tibia and femoral bones, while a “combination of screws and pins” was used to stabilize injuries to the bones of his foot and ankle, according to Woods’ Twitter account.

Woods had stayed at a resort in Rolling Hills after hosting the Genesis Invitational tournament. He stayed in the area filming under a contract with Golf Digest and the Discovery Channel.

Just two days before the crash, Woods was asked during a CBS Sports interview if he would participate in the Masters tournament that begins this Thursday at Augusta National Golf Course in Georgia.

“God I hope so,” he said.

Woods’ epic career of 82 PGA titles and wins at 15 major championships was turned upside down in November 2009 after he crashed another SUV into a fire hydrant outside his then Florida residence.

Woods was knocked unconscious for more than five minutes from this crash. His then-wife Elin Nordegren is said to have used a golf club to break a window and pull it out of the car.

The crash led to weeks of reports that Woods was involved in several extramarital affairs. Shortly afterwards, he entered a clinic for treatment.

In May 2017, Woods was charged with driving under the Florida influence after police discovered him sleeping in a damaged car.

In an apology later, Woods blamed “an unexpected reaction” to a mixture of prescribed drugs for his faint.

“I want the public to know it’s not alcohol,” Woods said at the time.

A month after this arrest, Woods entered a clinic for treatment of problems with prescription pain medication and a sleep disorder.

Woods reportedly used pain medication to get up and move around while recovering from four back surgeries.

In January, Woods announced that he had his fifth microdiscectomy on his back to remove a pressurized disc fragment that caused him pain during December’s PNC championship in Orlando, Florida.

This tournament was the last time he competed.