One of four police officers charged over George Floyd death released on bail

11 June 2020, 22:33

One of the four Minneapolis police officers who were charged over the death of George Floyd has been released on bail.

Thomas Lane, 37, one of the four police officers charged, had been held on a $750,000 (£590,000) bail.

He was freed from Hennepin County Jail on Wednesday.

He is one of the three officers charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

The fourth officer, Derek Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin was filmed pushing his knee onto George Floyd's neck for eight minutes and 43 seconds, as Mr Floyd could clearly be heard saying "I can't breathe".

All four officers have since been fired from the Minneapolis police department.

Lane's lawyer Earl Gray spoke to media following his client's release, and said Lane was only on his fourth day on the job.

"What was my client supposed to do but follow what his training officer (Chauvin) said?," he said during a court hearing.

Chauvin remains in jail in lieu of $1.25m bail.

The other officers, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng, remain in jail in lieu of $750,000 bail and charges.

Lane's next hearing is scheduled for 29 June.

George Floyd died on a street in Minneapolis several weeks ago during an arrest for allegedly using a counterfeit note.

The video that went viral on social media showed the 46-year-old's final moments as he lay handcuffed and face down in the street with police officer Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into his neck.

In the weeks that followed, huge protests against police brutality and racism swept across the world, and revived fierce debate about discrimination in the US judicial system.

In the UK, conversation has also turned to how we memorialise iconic figures in British history that also had racist pasts.