Minneapolis police officers condemn former colleague Derek Chauvin charged with killing George Floyd in open letter

Letter says former policeman 'failed as a human'

More than a dozen members of the Minneapolis police department have condemned their former colleague Derek Chauvin in an open letter on the death of George Floyd.

Fourteen officers signed the letter on Thursday which is addressed to “everyone -- but especially Minneapolis citizens”, following the killing of Floyd on 25 May.

"Derek Chauvin failed as a human and stripped George Floyd of his dignity and life. This is not who we are,” the letter says.

"We stand ready to listen and embrace the calls for change, reform and rebuilding," it adds.

In their statement, the officers also say that they represent “the voices of hundreds of other Minneapolis Police Officers”.

One day after the letter’s publication, the Minneapolis City Council unanimously passed a resolution to replace the police department with a public safety system led by the community.

A few days earlier, the council voted to disband the city’s police department, with five of the council members writing that Floyd’s murder “is a tragedy that shows that no amount of reforms will prevent lethal violence and abuse by some members of the Police Department against members of our community, especially Black people and people of color".

Jacob Frey, the city’s mayor, said this week that he supported "massive structural reform to revise a structurally racist system”. However, he stopped short of calling for the dismantling of the police department.

Mr Chauvin is the officer who has been charged with the murder of Floyd, after kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes while detaining him.

He originally faced charges of third degree murder and manslaughter but this was upgraded to second degree murder and manslaughter after weeks of protests.

Earlier this week, CNN reported that Mr Chauvin could stand to receive $1m (£797,000) in pension benefits even if he is convicted of the crime.

Additional reporting from Reuters