Former DC detective says Minneapolis officer 'should have been arrested right away' in George Floyd death

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Williams: Officer responsible for George Floyd's death should have been arrested immediately

Minnesota Parks Police Dept. releases redacted body camera footage; former D.C. police detective Ted Williams reacts.

Former D.C. police detective and defense attorney Ted Williams told "Bill Hemmer Reports" Thursday that a Minneapolis police officer filmed with his knee on the neck of George Floyd earlier this week should been arrested and charged "right there on the scene."

I've represented police officers that are charged with excessive force," Williams told host Bill Hemmer. "But when I look at this situation here, the big question is, should this officer, Derek Chauvin, have been charged right there on the scene, once they looked at the video?

"And my answer is a resounding yes, he should have been charged."

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The death of Floyd shortly after his arrest has led to widespread protests and rioting, as well as calls for the four officers involved in the arrest to face criminal charges.

"I want you to just think about it in reverse, Bill," Williams said. "Suppose it was a citizen that had his knee on the neck of a police officer and that police officer died. That citizen would be arrested right away. This man [Chauvin] should have been arrested right away. And I expect in the near future that he will be arrested."

Chauvin, who has been identified in media reports as the man kneeling on Floyd's neck, was fired from the Minneapolis police force on Tuesday along with three other officers involved in the incident: Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng.

"There was no need for this police officer to have his knee on this man's neck," Williams said. "And one of the things that I've been able to research and find out is that Chauvin, this police officer, the 19-year veteran of that police department, he's had numerous police misconduct complaints, but he knows the rules and regulations out there on the street."

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Williams also criticized the other three officers for not intervening.

"What they needed to have done was ... immediately get that man on the ground and put him in a car," he said, "and that they didn't do for about seven minutes."

Fox News' Barnini Chakraborty contributed to this report.