VOA慢速英语2020 明尼苏达州宣布增加对弗洛伊德死亡涉案警方的指控（在线收听）

Minnesota Announces Additional Charges Against Police in George Floyd Death

明尼苏达州宣布增加对弗洛伊德死亡涉案警方的指控

The American state of Minnesota Wednesday made new charges in the May 25th death of George Floyd during his arrest by Minneapolis police.

周三美国明尼苏达州对5月25日乔治·弗洛伊德在被明尼阿波利斯警方逮捕期间死亡一案提出新的指控。

The state’s attorney general Keith Ellison said the third degree murder charge against police officer Derek Chauvin had been changed to second degree murder, which carries heavier penalties.

该州总检察长吉斯·埃利森表示，对警官德里克·乔文的三级谋杀指控已改为二级谋杀指控，而这意味着他将被处以更重的刑罚。

He said the state had also charged three additional officers involved in the arrest, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao, with aiding and abetting second degree murder.

他还说，该州将以协助和教唆二级谋杀罪名指控另外三名参与逮捕的警官Thomas Lane, J. Kueng和Tou Thao。

A video recording of the arrest shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes straight. Floyd, who was handcuffed, repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” and, “Please, I can’t breathe.” Voices of bystanders also are heard telling the officer to get off Floyd’s neck.

一段逮捕录像显示，乔文跪在弗洛伊德的脖子上，持续时间几乎长达9分钟。被铐上手铐的弗洛伊德反复说：“我不能呼吸了，”，“求求你，我不能呼吸了。”录像中还能听到围观群众的声音要求警察停止他的行为。

Floyd was pronounced dead a short time later.

弗洛伊德不久后被宣布死亡。

The Minneapolis police department dismissed the four officers from the force the following day.

次日明尼阿波利斯警察局开除了这四名警员。

Protests began to break out in cities across the country immediately. They have continued every day since.

抗议活动立即在全国各城市爆发。从那以后，抗议每天都在继续。

During his announcement, Ellison called the protests “dramatic and necessary,” saying Floyd “should be here and he is not.”

在他的声明中，埃里森称抗议是“激动人心的且必要的”，并表示弗洛伊德“本应该还活着，但不幸的是他没有。”

“His life had value, and we will seek justice.”

“他的生命是有价值的，我们会为他寻求正义。”

Benjamin Crump, an attorney for Floyd’s family, praised the new charges as “a significant step forward on the road to justice.” Crump said Ellison had told the family he would continue his investigation and could increase the charge to first-degree murder with more evidence.

弗洛伊德家属请的律师本杰明·克拉姆普称赞新的指控是“通往正义道路上迈出的重要一步”。克拉姆普说，埃里森已经告诉弗洛伊德的家属，他将继续进行调查，而且如果能有更多证据或会将指控升到一级谋杀。

Earlier Wednesday, Floyd’s family visited the site where Floyd died. They told supporters, “We are demanding justice.”

周三早些时候，弗洛伊德的家属拜访了弗洛伊德去世的地点。他们对支持者说：“我们要求公正。”

The state of Minnesota has also opened a civil rights investigation into whether the Minneapolis Police Department has a pattern of discrimination against minorities.

明尼苏达州还对明尼阿波利斯警察局是否存在某些种族主义歧视的行为展开了民权调查。

Although protests have continued, the acts of violence and lawlessness at earlier sites seems to have decreased. Curfews and efforts by protesters to calm the crowds were credited with preventing more widespread damage to businesses in New York and other states overnight.

尽管抗议活动仍在继续，但像在早期抗议地点发生的暴力和违法行为似乎有所减少。宵禁和抗议者平息群众情绪所做的努力有效防止了纽约和其他州的商业在一夜之间受到更大范围的破坏。

“Last night we took a step forward in moving out of this difficult period we’ve had the last few days and moving to a better time,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

纽约市长比尔德布拉西奥说：“昨晚我们向前迈进了一步，走出了过去几天经历的一段艰难的时期，迈向一个更好的未来。”。

Police in the city said almost 280 people were arrested on protest-related charges Tuesday night, compared with 700 a day earlier. Nationwide, more than 9,000 have been arrested in connection with the unrest.

该市警方表示，周二晚上有近280人因与抗议有关的指控被捕，而一天前则有700人。在全国范围内，有9000多人因骚乱被捕。

In Philadelphia, a statue of former Mayor Frank Rizzo was removed by the city early Wednesday after repeatedly being targeted by vandals. Rizzo presided over a police force widely accused of racism and violence in the 1970s.

在费城，前市长弗兰克·里佐的雕像由于多次遭到破坏分子的袭击在周三早些时候被该市拆除。里佐在20世纪70年代领导了一支被广泛指责为种族主义和暴力的警察部队。

From the Vatican, Pope Francis said he has “witnessed with great concern the disturbing social unrest” in the U.S. The pontiff said, “My friends, we cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism...”

教皇方济各在梵蒂冈表示，他“对眼前美国令人不安的社会动荡深表关切”。教皇说：“我的朋友们，我们不能容忍或无视种族主义……”

I'm Caty Weaver.

凯蒂·韦弗报道。