George Floyd

How the Officers Charged in George Floyd's Death Could Get Their Jobs Back

The Minneapolis police union has had great success convincing arbitrators to reinstate fired officers

From left, J. Alexander Kueng, Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao.

Shortly after four Minneapolis police officers were fired over the death of George Floyd, the president of the city's police union wrote a letter to his members signaling that he was working to restore the officers' jobs.

"They were fired without due process," wrote Lt. Bob Kroll, of the Minneapolis Police Federation.

Derek Chauvin, the officer seen on video pressing his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes, has been fired and charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other former officers — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.

In the past, Kroll's union has had great success in getting police officer terminations reversed — by appealing them to arbitrators.

Since 2006, eight Minneapolis police firings have been decided by arbitrators and all but two resulted in the officers getting their jobs back, according to an NBC News review of records from the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

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