The former Minneapolis police officer is awaiting trial on murder and manslaughter charges after a video captured him kneeling on Mr. Floyd’s neck in May.
October 7, 2020 10:00 p.m. ET
For months, protesters trained their anger on Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who was shown on video holding his knee on the neck of George Floyd before his death. They demonstrated outside of Mr. Chauvin’s home, posted his mug shot across the internet and chanted outside his first in-person court appearance last month.
Through almost all of it, Mr. Chauvin has been behind bars, awaiting trial for murder and manslaughter in Mr. Floyd’s death. But on Wednesday, Mr. Chauvin was freed after posting $100,000 through a bail bond agency. Hours later, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota announced that he was mobilizing 100 members of the Minnesota National Guard “out of an abundance of caution” at the request of leaders in Minneapolis, which was upended by nights of protest immediately after the killing of Mr. Floyd in May.
It was uncertain where Mr. Chauvin, 44, will live or how he will be received, but he is returning to an outside world that has been significantly reshaped by the killing. Mr. Floyd’s death ignited protests across the globe and led to an increased focus on race and police brutality.
As part of the conditions of his release, Mr. Chauvin will be required to stay in Minnesota until his trial, scheduled for March, but the Minnesota home he owned with his wife, who has filed for divorce, was sold for $279,000 in late August, property records show. He also agreed to surrender any guns he may have, not take any job in law enforcement and avoid any contact with Mr. Floyd’s family.