Last year on May 25th, a tragic event occurred that showed the entire nation, the murder of George Floyd. Floyd died after being handcuffed and pinned to the ground by officer Derek Chauvin’s knee, this event was captured on video and spread online. Chauvin, the police officer responsible, knelt on the neck of the unarmed Black man for more than nine minutes. Floyd’s killing drew outrage, and a nationwide and worldwide reckoning on police reform and racial justice. Ever since the event, former officer Derek Chauvin and the other three officers involved, Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng, and Tou Thao have been arrested and put on trial.
Former Minneapolis Police officer Derek Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder right after Floyd’s death, but Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill dismissed the count in October by saying that the charge did not apply to this case. Chauvin also faced charges of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter but has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Nevertheless, an appeals court ruling in February in the case against former Minneapolis Police officer Mohamed Noor opened the door to reinstating the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin.
Judge Peter Cahill on Thursday granted prosecutors’ motion to reinstate the third-degree murder charge, which applies to a case in which a person does something dangerous to others without regard for human life. The reason behind choosing the third-degree murder charge was because, in order to convict Chauvin of second-degree murder, prosecutors would need to prove that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death while attempting to commit a related felony. A third-degree murder would require a lower standard of proof than a second-degree. In order to win a conviction on third-degree murder, the prosecutors would need to prove that Chauvin caused Floyd’s death in an act that is greatly dangerous to others.
Meanwhile, the other three officers involved in the killing are charged with aiding and abetting and will be tried in August.
You can find daily updates on the case on CNN.