Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in the killing of George Floyd, can leave Minnesota due to "safety concerns," a judge said Friday.
Chauvin, 44, is facing murder and manslaughter charges after video showed him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about eight minutes during an arrest on May 25.
He was charged in late May and was in custody for months prior to his release from jail Wednesday on a $1 million bond.
A Hennepin County judge said in a ruling Friday that the Department of Corrections provided evidence that unidentified "safety concerns" have arisen in Chauvin's pretrial, conditional release.
As a result, the judge ruled that he was modifying the conditions of release to allow the former officer to live either in Minnesota or a neighboring state.
Under the previous bond conditions, Chauvin could not leave Minnesota.
The judge's order also said that Chauvin will have "no permanent address" in the public court information system but must report his new address to his conditional release officer, who can share it with the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Court Security Division, the prosecution and the defense.
Chauvin will also be required to keep a cellphone on his person at all times and answer all calls from the Department of Corrections.
All other bond conditions will remain in place, ordered the judge, including not working in a security capacity, no contact with Floyd's family and no firearms or firearms permits.
Chauvin was arrested May 31 and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter after kneeling on the neck of a handcuffed Floyd for an extended period of time and killing him. After video of the killing circulated on social media, protests ignited across the country and across the globe calling for police reform and an end to racial injustice.
After posting bond Wednesday, Chauvin was released from Oak Park Heights prison to await trial outside state custody.
