George Floyd death: US cities relax curfews as protesters welcome new charges against police

Largely peaceful demonstrations continue across the US, but more instances of violent police tactics are reported

New charge of second-degree murder is added against former officer Derek Chauvin as three others face abetting charges

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Demonstrators lay on the ground facing a police line in front of the White House on Wednesday during protests over the death of George Floyd. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:04pm, 4 Jun 2020Updated: 5:26am, 5 Jun 2020

Largely peaceful protests against systemic racism and police brutality continued across the United States on Wednesday evening as some cities relaxed or even cancelled curfews, though incidents involving violent clearing tactics by police were reported in cities including New York.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan cancelled nightly curfews on Wednesday after meetings with community leaders and the city’s police chief. In Washington DC, the nation’s capital, where aggressive police tactics have calmed in recent days, the curfew was pushed back from 7pm to 11pm.

Los Angeles County officials also announced they would not enforce a curfew on Thursday night, but said that municipalities in the county reserved the authority to implement their own.

The relaxations came on the heels of new abetting charges brought against three police officers who assisted or stood by during the arrest of George Floyd, the unarmed black man whose death in Minneapolis sparked the nationwide demonstrations.

Third-degree murder charges against Derek Chauvin, the white police officer who pinned Floyd down, were elevated to second degree. All four officers were fired before the charges were brought.

From left, Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. Chauvin is charged with the second-degree murder, the other three have been charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin. Photo: AP