The former policeman charged with second-degree murder over the death of black-American George Floyd was released on Wednesday after he posted a bond of $1 million (about Sh108 million).
44-years-old Derek Chauvin from Minneapolis was set free after he was apprehended on May 31 and originally held in a county jail and later moved to a state facility.
Chauvin was charged with killing Floyd, 46, by pressing his knee on his neck for a long period while arresting the unarmed man on May 25, an incident filmed and widely circulated on social media.
The incident sparked wide and sometimes violent protests in Minneapolis and across the US.
Lawyers representing the cop have asked for the charges to be dropped, arguing that Floyd died as a result of a lethal dose of fentanyl and not his ill treatment by police officers.
Police body-camera footage had captured Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for close to nine minutes, even as a county medical examiner had ruled that his death was a homicide case.
Chauvin and two other officers helped restrain Floyd, who was being apprehended on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill as a third officer watched from a distance and barred witnesses.
All the three cops have been charged with aiding second-degree murder among other charges after the four were dismissed by their police department after the arrest video went viral.
Chauvin is set to appear in court on March 8, 2021, for a possible commencement of a trial, even as observers have been left wondering how the officer managed to raise the $1 million bond.
