Wife of disgraced cop in George Floyd's death files for divorce

"Her utmost sympathy lies with [Floyd's] family, with his loved ones and with everyone who is grieving this tragedy," the statement read.

MAY 31, 2020 17:27

A protester holds a sign outside the Florida home of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, in Orlando (photo credit: REUTERS) — A protester holds a sign outside the Florida home of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, in Orlando

(photo credit: REUTERS)

Kellie Chauvin, the wife of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was arrested and charged with murder and manslaughter over the death of George Floyd, 46, is divorcing her husband after 10 years of marriage, according to a statement released by her attorney.

In the statement, Kellie said that she was deeply saddened by the untimely death of Floyd, who was shown in a bystander video handcuffed, lying face down, groaning for help and repeatedly saying, "Please, I can't breathe," before becoming motionless, as a white Minneapolis police officer continued pinning his knee into the neck of the unarmed black man. He died in hospital shortly after.

"Her utmost sympathy lies with [Floyd's] family, with his loved ones and with everyone who is grieving this tragedy," the statement read. "She has filed for dissolution of her marriage to Derek Chauvin. While Ms. Chauvin has no children from her current marriage, she respectfully requests that her children, her elder parents, and her extended family be given safety and privacy during this difficult time."

Peaceful protests have unraveled into nightly riots in Minneapolis following the release of the bystander video.

The demonstrations, accompanied by looting and vandalism, began on Wednesday, hours after Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey urged prosecutors to file criminal charges against the white policeman shown pinning Floyd to the street.

In addition to a US Post Office and a Wells Fargo bank branch, several other nearby businesses were destroyed by fire over the last few nights of riots, including a convenience store and a Walgreen's drug store.

"What I saw was really worse than what I saw in Somalia," said Somali and Minneapolis resident Mohammad Abdi, who fled his native war-torn country in 2004. "It was really, really sad. Wow! Just wow!"

Floyd's death has sparked outrage and violent protests in other US cities as well, including New York, Atlanta and Washington – even after Chauvin was fired, arrested and charged with murder.

The incident also led to the dismissal of three other officers who stood idly by as Floyd cried out for help.

The victim's brother Philonise Floyd told CNN on Thursday that he was "tired of seeing black men die" and understood people's anger but urged protesters to be peaceful.

"To the police, I want them to get everything right, start doing your job the right way because I haven't been seeing it," Philonise said.

The city identified the four former officers involved in the encounter as Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng. It did not say who knelt on Floyd's neck, and gave no further information.

Local media has identified Chauvin as the officer who knelt on Floyd. His attorney, Tom Kelly, said in an email to Reuters that he did not have a statement about the incident.

A petition on Change.org calling for authorities to arrest and charge the four had more than 1.1 million signatures on Thursday morning.

Reuters contributed to this report.