George Floyd murder suspect released on $1m bail
The former US police officer charged with the murder of unarmed black man George Floyd has been released from prison on bail.
Derek Chauvin posted a $1m (£774,000) bond and premiered on Wednesday morning, court records show.
The white officer was filmed pressing his knee on Mr Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes before he died on 25 May.
Mr Floyd's death resulted in global protests and demands police reform, spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mr Chauvin was fired from his job and today awaits trial in March next year on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other officers - J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao - were also fired and charged with aiding and abetting murder.
All officers accused regarding the the killing of Mr Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have finally posted bail and so are free until their trial next year.
Chauvin had been at the maximum-security prison in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, since late May.
In June, a judge set a bail of $1.25m without preconditions, or $1m with conditions such as Mr Chauvin not contacting Mr Floyd's family, surrendering his firearms rather than working in law enforcement or security as he awaits trial.
Mr Chauvin premiered on conditional bail, which court public records showed was guaranteed by a bail-bond agency, CBS Minnesota reported.
In the US, bail-bond agents promise to pay authorities the entire bail amount for defendants if indeed they cannot afford do so or neglect to appear at court.
Mr Chauvin was released from custody shortly before 11:30 local time (17:30 GMT) on Wednesday, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
Ben Crump, a civil rights legal professional representing Mr Floyd's family, said Mr Chauvin's release on bail was a "painful reminder" that "we are still far from attaining justice for George".
"Although George Floyd was denied justice in life, we won't rest until he is afforded full justice in death," Mr Crump said.
Currently, all accused officers are scheduled to face trial together in March, but a judge is considering trying them separately.
The incident that resulted in their prosecution highlighted deep wounds over racial inequality in america.
The Black Lives Matter demonstrations - a few of which turned violent - became a central political issue in the run up to November's presidential election in america.
