Thomas Lane has posted bail and been released. Photo / AP
Thomas Lane has posted bail and been released. Photo / AP
Warning: Distressing images
One of four police officers charged in the death of George Floyd has posted bail and is out of jail.
According to online records, Thomas Lane, 37, posted bail of US$750,000 ($1.1m) and was released from the Hennepin County Jail, with conditions, shortly after 4pm Wednesday localtime.
Records show the other officers remained in custody.
From left, Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are the four cops charged over George Floyd's death. Photo / AP
Lane is charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter for his role in the arrest of Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died Memorial Day after another officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee to Floyd's neck as Floyd cried out that he couldn't breathe and became motionless.
Lane's attorney Earl Gray did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
But last week Gray said that Lane was a rookie, and that the only thing he did was hold Floyd's feet so he couldn't kick.
The criminal complaint also says that Lane expressed concern about Floyd and asked Chauvin twice if they should roll Floyd to his side, but Chauvin said no.
Gray said Lane also performed CPR in the ambulance.
Gray told the Star Tribune he plans to bring a motion to dismiss the charges.
Statues torn down
Protesters tore down a statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis along Richmond, Virginia's famed Monument Avenue on Wednesday night.
The statue in the former capital of the Confederacy was toppled shortly before 11pm local time, news outlets reported.
Richmond police were on the scene and videos on social media showed the monument being towed away as a crowd cheered.
A police officer looks toward the toppled statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis along Monument Drive. Photo / AP
About 130km away, protesters in Portsmouth beheaded and then pulled down four statues that were part of a Confederate monument on Wednesday, according to media outlets.
Efforts to tear one of the statues down began around 8:20pm, but the rope they were using snapped, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
The crowd was frustrated by the Portsmouth City Council's decision to put off moving the monument. They switched to throwing bricks from the post that held the plaque they had pulled down as they initially worked to bring down the statue.
The Pilot reports that they then started to dismantle the monument one piece at a time as a marching band played in the streets and other protesters danced.
A protester in his 30s was hit in the head as the monument fell, causing him to lose consciousness, Portsmouth NAACP Vice President Louie Gibbs told the newspaper. The crowd quieted as the man was taken to a hospital. His condition was not immediately clear.
A flag tied to the monument was lit on fire, and the flames burned briefly at the base of one of the statues.
A man was hit in the head as protesters pulled down a Confederate statue in Portsmouth. Photo / Twitter
A statue of Christopher Columbus in Richmond was torn down by protesters, set on fire and then submerged into a lake on Tuesday. News outlets reported the Columbus statue was toppled less than two hours after protesters gathered in the city's Byrd Park chanting for the statue to be taken down.
The death of Floyd, who was black, has prompted similar Confederate monument removals around the United States. Some people say the tributes inappropriately glorify people who led a rebellion that sought to uphold slavery. Others say their removal amounts to erasing history.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam last week ordered the removal of an iconic statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, which is four blocks away from where the Davis statue stood. A judge on Monday issued an injunction preventing officials from removing the monuments for the next 10 days.
Police brutality investigated
The Los Angeles Police Department is investigating 56 allegations of misconduct during protests against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's death.
Of the 56 investigations, 28 involve alleged uses of force, the LAPD said Wednesday in a statement.
Derek Chauvin kneels on the neck of George Floyd, who was pleading that he could not breathe. Photo / AP
The agency has tasked 40 investigators with looking into allegations of misconduct and excessive force, as well as violations of departmental policy, during the protests.
While most protests have been peaceful, there were violent clashes with police and businesses were vandalised.
Preserving a moment in history
Volunteers on the scene in the American capital are working to gather and preserve hundreds of items that were posted during days of protests over the death of George Floyd.
Hundreds of signs and posters that had been on the fence enclosing Lafayette Square near the White House have been moved across the street and taped to the walls of a construction site, or strung together and hung from trees lining the street.
Sister Mamie reposts signs that were removed form the Lafayette Park parameter fence at the site of protests, near the White House in Washington. Photo / AP
At the volunteer medical tents on Wednesday, the call went out for more string to continue hanging up protest art.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Smithsonian have expressed an interest in preserving the artifacts.
A spokesman for the National Museum of African American History and Culture says curators from three different parts of the Smithsonian network visited the scene today.
-AP
Signs line the fence that was put up on the perimeter of Lafayette Park. Photo / AP
