A Minnesota judge dismissed the third-degree murder charge for Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who pinned down George Floyd by the neck for nearly nine minutes before he died in May, but he upheld the second-degree murder and manslaughter charges he faces.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill also did not dismiss the charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder against the three other officers involved in Floyd’s death, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao, according to KARE 11.
“The State has, in this Court’s view, presented evidence upon which a jury might reasonably find that Chauvin grossly deviated from the standard of care a reasonable officer would observe, and consciously disregarded the risk of death to Floyd,” Cahill said in a 107-page ruling regarding the aiding and abetting charges. “Because a jury might also reasonably conclude that Kueng knew or, in any event, should have known from an objective standpoint, that and that his presence at the scene and his own actions allowed Chauvin to continue, there is probable cause to believe that Kueng aided and abetted second-degree manslaughter.”
Concerning the other officers – Cahill goes through each one separately. But this passage sums up his ruling for their Aiding and Abetting charges: pic.twitter.com/Ta5BYhHan4
— Lou Raguse (@LouRaguse) October 22, 2020
Chauvin, 44, was first charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter after video emerged online of him arresting and pinning Floyd, a black man, to the ground with his knee. The death of Floyd inspired protests around the country and the world against police brutality and racial inequality.
According to Minnesota statute, third-degree murder is defined when someone “without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison added the charge of second-degree murder when he took over the case.
For one to be convicted of second-degree murder, the accused needs to be found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of causing “the death of a human being with intent to effect the death of that person or another, but without premeditation,” according to Minnesota statute. The state also outlines that one may be found guilty of second-degree, unintentional murder when one “causes the death of a human being without intent to effect the death of any person, while intentionally inflicting or attempting to inflict bodily harm upon the victim, when the perpetrator is restrained under an order for protection and the victim is a person designated to receive protection under the order.”
Chauvin was released from jail while awaiting trial earlier this month after posting a $1 million bond payment. The four officers are scheduled to be in court in March 2021.
