The dismissed Minneapolis police officer who held his knee to George Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes agreed to plead guilty to third degree murder days after Floyd’s death, but then Attorney General William Barr rejected the deal.
Derek Chauvin and the three other officers involved were fired days after Floyd’s death on May 25 and subsequently arrested. Chauvin faces second-degree murder charges and is due to be tried in March. The other three are accused of helping and inciting and are due to be tried together in the summer.
Details of the failed deal were first reported on Thursday by The New York Times.
A former Justice Department official confirmed the failed deal for NBC News, saying that both politically and career-appointed Justice Department officials rejected the idea.
“His lawyers were trying to hurry us, and we didn’t want to be rushed,” said the official.
Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, declined to comment on Thursday.
A spokesman for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is leading the charge, said he could not comment because it covers a period before Ellison is assigned to the case.
Lacey Severins, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County attorney’s office, who was handling the case at the time, said: “As is typical in many cases, initial negotiations can take place between all parties involved. Often, a defendant will explore your options with a negotiation. It is also common for this type of discussion to happen at the beginning of a case and then there is no agreement on the negotiations to develop. In this case it was no different. The negotiations were discussed, nothing has developed. “
Floyd’s death sparked protests across the country and new calls for an end to police brutality and racial inequalities.
“As part of the deal, officials now say, he was willing to go to prison for more than 10 years,” reported the Times. “Local officials, struggling to quell the growing anger in the community, have scheduled a press conference to announce the deal.”
But the deal failed, the Times reported, citing three police officers, because Barr feared it was too early for the investigation and was considered too tolerant. Barr also wanted to allow state officials to take over the case with time to make their own decisions, the Times reported.
Chauvin asked to serve his sentence in a federal prison, and the deal was pending federal approval because Chauvin wanted assurances that he would not face federal civil rights charges, the Times reported.
It would be highly unusual for the Justice Department to agree in advance to stop a civil rights investigation and to waive any possible federal lawsuit before state lawsuits have completely run out.
The incident involving Floyd was recorded by a viewer and widely shared on social media.
The video shows Floyd pleading, “Please, please, please, I can’t breathe. My stomach hurts. My neck hurts. Please, please. I can’t breathe,” before going silent.
