One of the three different charges that officer Derek Chauvin was facing in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has been dropped. A Hennepin County, Minnesota judge dropped the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin but upheld the second-degree murder and manslaughter charges. Officers who were on the scene of Floyd’s death are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. None of the charges against the other officers were dropped by the judge.
The judge’s decision will mostly likely point to the direction of the prosecution and the eventual decision of the jury. Since the charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter still stand, the punishment (if any) for the officers could go high or low. And if there is punishment levied in this case, it will probably tend toward the low end. Plenty of evidence that has already been revealed to the general public points to this conclusion.
Body cam footage does not reveal police officers with malicious intentions toward George Floyd. What the footage shows is a man who appeared to be high on drugs and resisting arrest. Two separate pathology reports performed on Floyd reveal fentanyl in his system. The behavior he exhibited on camera points toward a phenomenon called “excited delirium” which is probably what caused his death, and not the infamous knee on the neck from Officer Chauvin. Speaking of the knee on the neck, this practice was trained by Minneapolis Police Department. MPD training videos display the exact move that Chauvin performed.
SOURCES:
Judge drops third-degree murder charge against former officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyd’s death – CNN
MPD training shows neck restraint similar to that used on Floyd | kare11.com
Minnesota Second-Degree Murder
George Floyd Arrest Bodycam Footage LEAKED! (VIDEO) | Anthony Brian Logan
Third-Degree Murder Charge Dismissed against Derek Chauvin in Death of George Floyd
Ex-officers to go to trial; 1 charge dropped – StarTribune.com
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