Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of killing George Floyd, is now defending himself in a separate case involving a teenager who was allegedly subjected to a similar act of excessive police force in 2017. Chauvin appeared in front of a judge via videoconference on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the 2017 incident, the Associated Press reports.
The former officer, who is accusing the teenager of resisting arrest, spoke from a maximum-security prison as he defended himself against the allegations. Here are four things to know about the case involving the teen:
Disturbing details of excessive force have surfaced
Chauvin is accused of carrying out a gruesome attack on the unidentified Black teen, who was 14 years old at the time. The officer allegedly held the boy by the throat and hit him in the head with a flashlight. The indictment also states that the policeman held his knee on the boy’s neck and upper back while he was handcuffed and not resisting.
Chauvin is accused of depriving the teen's right to be free of unreasonable force, NPR reports. The use of force allegedly caused the boy to bleed from the ear and required him to get two stitches.
The details are similar to the George Floyd case
In the case of Floyd, Chauvin knelt on the Black man's neck for nearly nine minutes. The viral video of the incident, which instantly traveled around the world, showed Floyd facedown on the pavement, pleading for air as the officer refused to show mercy. Now, in the case involving the teen, Chauvin is defending himself against similar accusations of excessive force.
Chauvin is accused of using neck or head and upper-body restraints in at least seven other incidents prior to Floyd's death. Prosecutors said there have been several incidents of Chauvin holding the restraints "beyond the point when such force was needed under the circumstances."
Chauvin gave brief answers when he appeared for his trial
The former policeman spoke with U.S. District Magistrate Judge Hildy Bowbeer via video conference as he serves time for the killing of Floyd. Chauvin appeared to be sitting alone in a conference room with a notepad in front of him, CNN reports.
When Bowbeer asked how he would plead to the charges brought against him, the 45-year-old said, “Not guilty, your honor.”
It was the boy's mother who called police
The 2017 incident unfolded when Chauvin and another officer responded to a complaint from a mother who said she was being assaulted by her son and daughter. The officers found the 14-year-old son lying on the floor when they arrived at the scene, the Star Tribune reports. Police then ordered the boy to get off his phone and stand up because he was under arrest.
Chauvin is accused of proceeding to grab the boy and strike him in the head with a flashlight multiple times while the teen complained about being in pain and struggling to breathe.
According to court documents, Chauvin held the boy in a prone position with a knee in his back for about 17 minutes until paramedics arrived. Chauvin said the boy "displayed active resistance to efforts to take him into custody" by "flailing his arms around."
