Derek Chauvin Posts Bond, All Officers in George Floyd Case Are Now Free

Derek Chauvin was released after posting $1 million bond on Wednesday.

On Wednesday morning, multiple outlets reported that Derek Chauvin, the only officer charged with murder in connection with the death of George Floyd, has been released on bond. With Chauvin’s release, all four of the involved officers have been released from police custody.

A Minnesota Department of Corrections spokesperson has confirmed Chauvin’s release. State court records show he posted a non-cash bond, signed by A-Affordable Bail Bonds of Brainerd, Minnesota.

Chauvin faces charges of second and third-degree murder and second degree manslaughter. The other three officers, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. All four officers were fired the day after Floyd’s death. Lane, Kueng, and Thaos were respectively released on June 10, June 19, and July 4.

Currently, the trial date for the four officers is set for March 8, 2021. At a motions hearing on September 11, a judge heard arguments for multiple motions: moving the trial venue outside of Hennepin County and the Twin Cities metropolitan area, joining the four cases into one, and dismissing the cases altogether. Attorneys have argued that the trial should be held in other venues like Stearns, Crow Wing, or St. Louis counties. Coincidentally, each of these counties are over 90 percent white. At this point, however, the judge hasn’t issued any decisions regarding the motions.

Two days after his arrest, Chauvin was transferred from the Hennepin County Jail to the Oak Park Heights maximum security prison.