The man accused of murdering African American George Floyd, whose death sparked global protests, is to appear in court for the first time.
Derek Chauvin, a white policeman, knelt on Mr. Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while he was being arrested in Minneapolis on 25 May.
Mr. Chauvin, who has since been sacked, will face a judge in Minnesota remotely on murder and manslaughter charges.
Three other officers were also fired and charged with aiding and abetting.
Mourners in Houston, Texas, where Mr. Floyd lived before moving to Minneapolis, have been viewing his body, publicly on display for six hours at The Fountain of Praise church.
On Tuesday, a private funeral service will be held in Houston. Memorial services have already been held in Minneapolis and North Carolina, where Mr. Floyd was born.
It is believed a family member escorted Mr. Floyd’s body on a flight to Texas late on Saturday.
Democratic US presidential candidate Joe Biden is expected to visit Mr. Floyd’s relatives in Houston to offer his sympathies. Aides to the former vice-president said he would also record a video message for Tuesday’s service.
Mr. Chauvin faces three separate charges: unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, for which the maximum penalties are prison terms of 40, 25 and 10 years respectively.
Further charges could be brought but it appears unlikely he will be accused of first-degree murder as prosecutors would have to prove premeditation, intent and motive, the Associated Press reports.
READ ALSO: Hertha Berlin, Borussi Dortmund Players Kneel In Tribute To George Floyd
By bringing multiple charges, prosecutors give jurors a choice and increase the chances of a conviction.
Minneapolis city council has voted to ban chokeholds and neck restraints by police officers, and Democrats in Congress are expected to present sweeping legislation on police reform.
In France, which saw Black Lives Matter protests over the weekend, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced that police would no longer be allowed to use chokeholds to arrest people.
It is part of a policy of zero tolerance of racism within the French police. France’s police watchdog has revealed that there were 1,500 complaints against officers last year, half of them for alleged assaults.
Masked and gloved mourners have been filing past Mr. Floyd’s coffin in line with coronavirus social distancing requirements, with only 15 guests allowed in the church at a time.
Anti-racism protests started by Mr. Floyd’s death are now entering their third week in the US. Huge rallies have been held in several cities, including Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
With the rallying cries “Black Lives matter” and “No Justice, No Peace”, the demonstrations are among the largest US protests against racism since the 1960s. Saturday’s gatherings included a protest in the Texas town of Vidor, once infamous as a stronghold of the Ku Klux Klan white supremacist group.
Episodes of looting and violence have, however, been reported among the peaceful rallies, and President Donald Trump threatened to call up troops to quash the protests.
Security measures were lifted across the US on Sunday as unrest started to ease. New York ended its nearly week-long curfew, and Mr. Trump said he was ordering the National Guard to start withdrawing from Washington DC.
BBC
