Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) says she believes that the charges against the officers involved in the death of George Floyd are supported by the circumstances around the incident.
“The circumstances and the evidence surrounding George Floyd’s death, I think without any question support the charges against them,” Harris said during an interview on ABC’s “The View” on Monday.
She continued, “But it will not be easy to get a conviction because it is still the case that jurors are still inclined to trust — because that’s part of the social contract — to trust police officers. And that has been part of the difficulty that so many prosecutors have had when they brought these cases.”
“But there is no denying that this officer, and those who were his accomplices, should pay a real consequence and accountability for what they’ve done,” she added.
Watch the video below:
Sen. @KamalaHarris tells us “the evidence surrounding George Floyd’s death I think without any question support the charges.”
— The View (@TheView) June 8, 2020
“There is no denying that this officer and those who were his accomplices should pay a real consequence and accountability.” https://t.co/mjKRxEI2Yb pic.twitter.com/Q1R6SpS0bO
Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer, was fired and initially with charged third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after a video surfaced of Chauvin pinning Floyd to the ground by placing his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes.
In the video, Floyd could be heard saying, “I can’t breathe.”
On June 3, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that the charges against Chauvin would be increased to second-degree murder.
The second-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of 40 years, which is 15 years more than a third-degree murder charge.
Additionally, the three other officers who were seen in the video were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
The aiding and betting second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 40 years.
All four officers were fired, and Chauvin was initially charged a week before the other three officers were.