Judge dismisses third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin in death of George Floyd but he still faces charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter
A judge has dismissed the third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin over the killing of black man George Floyd after the white cop knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes as he begged for air and said 'I can't breathe'.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill granted a motion to dismiss the charge against the former Minneapolis police officer in a ruling Thursday morning.
Cahill wrote in a 107-page court ruling that prosecutors did not have probable cause for the charge because there was no evidence Chauvin's actions were 'eminently dangerous' to anyone other than Floyd.
Chauvin, 44, still faces all other charges including the more serious charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after Cahill denied motions to dismiss them.
The three other fired officers charged in connection with Floyd's death still face charges of aiding and abetting after their dismissal motions were also denied.
Hennepin County Government Center was seen being boarded up ahead of the judge's ruling as authorities braced for more protests from people demanding justice for Floyd.
A judge has dismissed the third-degree murder charge against white cop Derek Chauvin (left) over the killing of black man George Floyd (right) after he knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes
The dismissal of Chauvin's third-degree murder charge will stay for five days to allow the state time to appeal the decision, according to the 107-page court ruling.
Cahill ruled that prosecutors did not have probable cause for the third-degree murder charge against the officer because they did not prove that Chauvin's actions were a danger to anyone other than Floyd, the documents show.
Under Minnesota law, a person is guilty of third-degree murder if 'without intent to effect the death of any person, [the defendant] causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life'.
The charge is rarely used in Minnesota and carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years.
Cahill said the state had to satisfy all of the following three requirements for the charges to stand against Chauvin: proof of Floyd's death, proof that Chauvin caused Floyd's death, and proof that Chauvin's intentional conduct that caused Floyd's death was 'eminently dangerous to other persons' and done with a disregard for human life.
The judge said the evidence did not satisfy this last requirement because Chauvin's actions were 'specifically directed' at Floyd and did not pose a danger to anyone else when he pressed the black man's 'chest area, neck and throat, and face into concrete'.
'The evidence presented by the State does not indicate that Chauvin's actions we eminently dangerous to anyone other than Floyd,' he wrote.
'More importantly, Chauvin's actions were of course specifically directed at the particular person whose death occurred, George Floyd, upon whom Chauvin kneeled for more than nine minutes, pressing Floyd's upper chest area, neck and throat, and face into concrete of Chicago Avenue.'
Cahill ruled that prosecutors did not have probable cause for the third-degree murder charge against the officer, according to court documents (above)
Chauvin's lawyers had also filed motions to have his more serious second-degree murder and manslaughter charges dismissed.
Cahill denied the requests writing that probable cause existed to believe the disgraced former cop committed these crimes and intentionally assaulted Floyd.
The evidence 'would lead a person of ordinary care and prudence to hold an honest and strong suspicion' that Chauvin committed second-degree unintentional murder, Cahill wrote in the court documents.
He dismissed the defense's efforts to dismiss the charge writing that 'at most, these arguments raise fact questions for the jury at trial.
'Accordingly, Chauvin's motion to dismiss this charge for lack of probable cause is denied,' the records state.
The lawyers for Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng had also sought a dismissal of the aiding and abetting charges against the three cops arguing a lack of probable cause.
This argument was dismissed by the judge in all three cases.
The Attorney Generals office said - despite the dismissal of one charge - Thursday's ruling was a 'positive step' toward justice.
'The court has sustained eight out of nine charges against the defendants in the murder of George Floyd, including the most serious charges against all four defendants,' the office said soon after the ruling.
George Floyd died on Memorial Day as he was arrested by four police officers over allegedly trying to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. He was seen in a video pleading that he couldn't breathe as Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against his neck
Pictured (left to right): Former officers Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao in their mugshots. The three other cops have been charged with aiding and abetting
'This means that all four defendants will stand trial for murder and manslaughter, both in the second degree. This is an important, positive step forward in the path toward justice for George Floyd, his family, our community, and Minnesota.'
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz also tweeted that the ruling to keep the more serious charges and take the four cops to trial was an 'important step toward justice for George Floyd.'
Kueng's attorney Tom Plunkett said he was reviewing the decision.
'The Court's order reflects considerable scholarship, integrity & work ethic- which is appreciated,' he wrote in a statement.
'I am still reviewing the order & do not plan on commenting further in the future.'
Cahill is yet to decide on several key aspects of the trial including whether to make the jury anonymous, whether the trial should be held in Hennepin County, and whether the four cops should stand trial together or separately.
The cops' defense teams are pushing for the jury to be kept anonymous and for the trial to be moved out of the county due to its high-profile nature.
However prosecutors say the jury should be public in the interest of transparency.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill ruled that 'probable cause does not exist' for the third-degree murder charge against the officer, according to court documents
Cahill has also refused to consider a change in location until efforts are first made to find a suitable jury in Hennepin County.
Thursday's bombshell ruling to dismiss one of the nine charges against Floyd's alleged killers comes after the same judge ruled that a transcript of bodycam footage from an unrelated arrest of Floyd back in 2019 could be used as evidence in the trial.
Cahill ruled that the transcript can be used but the footage itself cannot.
Chauvin was released from a maximum security prison earlier this month after posting $1million bond, sparking renewed outrage and protests demanding justice for Floyd.
Cahill ruled he was allowed to leave Minnesota while on bail awaiting trial.
The three other officers were already released on bond.
Chauvin was arrested back in May after footage surfaced online of Floyd's Memorial Day 'murder' in the streets of Minneapolis.
Chauvin is accused of murdering Floyd, 46, during his arrest on May 25 for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.
The white cop was caught on camera kneeling on the black man's neck for almost nine minutes while Floyd begged for his life and said 'I can't breathe' and onlookers pleaded with the officers to stop.
Chauvin, Thao, Lane and Kueng were all fired the next day and the FBI and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension launched an investigation.
Chauvin, who it transpired had been subject to at least 12 conduct reports with Minneapolis Police Department since 2001, was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter at the end of May.
Floyd's family called for the charges to be upgraded to murder in the first degree.
In June Chauvin was handed another charge of second-degree murder.
The other three officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.
Floyd, 46, was 'murdered' during his arrest on May 25 for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store
If convicted of his two remaining counts, Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder and 10 years for manslaughter.
Thao, Lane and Kueng also face up to 40 years each.
The trial for the four cops is currently set for March 2021.
Protests erupted across America and further afield after Floyd's 'murder' demanding an end to police brutality and racism.
Demonstrations have continued after multiple other cop killings of black men and women in recent months.
EMT Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot six times in March when three plainclothes officers performed a botched raid at her Louisville apartment.
Last month, a grand jury decided not to bring any charges against the three cops involved in her death, with only one officer charged in connection to the incident - not for Taylor's death but for wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighboring apartment.
In June, unarmed father Rayshard Brooks was shot dead while he ran from cops in the drive-thru of a Wendy's restaurant in Atlanta.
Then, in August, Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by a white cop in front of his three young children, leaving the father-of-six paralyzed from the waist down.
In early September, footage was released by the family of Daniel Prude, 41, showing cops in Rochester, New York, putting a spit hood over his face and pushing his face into the ground for two minutes until he passed out and died on March 23.
Earlier this month, unarmed black city worker Jonathan Price was shot dead outside a gas station by a white cop in Texas, as he was reportedly trying to break up a domestic incident.
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