Friday, March 29, 2024

3rd-Degree Murder Charge Dismissed Against Derek Chauvin, Ex-officer in George Floyd Case

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*A judge has dismissed a lesser murder charge against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd

Chauvin was charged with 3rd-degree murder after he was captured on video in May pressing his knee on the neck of Floyd for almost 10 minutes before he died.

On Thursday, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said prosecutors did not have probable cause to charge Chauvin with third-degree murder, which is a crime committed without premeditation or intent to kill. The judge said the evidence supports taking a second-degree murder charge to trial. If convicted, it could lead to decades in prison. 

Here’s more from MSN.com:

Cahill also upheld a manslaughter charge against Chauvin and all six charges against three other officers who were a part of Floyd’s arrest team. Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao. Kueng and Lane helped restrain Floyd, Cahill noted, while Thao kept bystanders at bay.

In his ruling, Cahill said a third-degree murder charge was appropriate in cases in which a defendant’s actions were “eminently dangerous to other persons” and were not specifically targeted at the person who died.

READ MORE: George Floyd’s Killer Derek Chauvin Posts $1M Bond and Leaves Prison

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Ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin shown killing George Floyd (screenshot)

In August, Chauvin’s attorney filed a motion in court stating there was no probable cause to support the murder and second-degree manslaughter charges. The documentation claimed the fentanyl in George Floyd’s system caused his death instead of the prolonged pressure from Chauvin kneeling on his neck for 8 minutes. Additionally, it stated several pre-existing conditions contributed to his death, the Daily Mail reported. 

‘If [Mr. Floyd] was found dead at home alone and no other apparent causes, it would have been acceptable to label his death an overdose.”

“The evidence presented by the State does not indicate that Chauvin’s actions were eminently dangerous to anyone other than Floyd,” Cahill wrote in his ruling this week.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison reacted to the ruling, stating “The court’s decision to dismiss just one of the lesser charges against just one of the defendants — while leaving intact all the charges against the other three defendants — is based on how appellate courts have interpreted the statute in question,” Ellison said in a statement.

“We are considering our options in light of the court’s strong order on the remaining charges,” he added. 

All four former cops are awaiting trial set for March 8, 2021. It is expected that they will be acquitted.

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