Judge denies prosecutor effort to add third-degree murder charges in George Floyd case
Derek Chauvin is still charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The other three officers face aiding and abetting charges.
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Hennepin County Jail
A judge has denied prosecutors motion to file third-degree murder charges against all four former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd s death.
Attorney General Keith Ellison s office filed the motion last week following the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruling that upheld a third-degree murder conviction against former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor, who fatally shot Justine Ruszczyk Damond in July 2017.
Derek Chauvin, who video showed kneeling on Floyd s neck for almost eight minutes, had originally been charged with third-degree murder, as well as second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. But Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill dismissed the third-degree charge, citing Minnesota c
State prosecutors are asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to rejoin the cases against the four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd.
In this courtroom sketch, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, center, sits beside his defense attorney during a Sept. 11, 2020, hearing in Minneapolis. (Cedric Hohnstadt via AP)
MINNEAPOLIS (CN) Prosecutors in the criminal trial of four former Minneapolis police officers for the death of George Floyd have asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals to ensure the group is tried together.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank filed a notice of appeal late Thursday afternoon. Frank has led the murder and aiding-and-abetting prosecution of fired officers Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane.
He argued that a recent sua sponte order by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to separate Chauvin’s trial from that of the other three defendants was an abuse of discretion due to the risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
A judge has ruled that information about George Floyd’s prior arrests can’t be used at the trials of the four former Minneapolis police officers charged in.
A judge has ruled that information about George Floyd’s prior arrests can’t be used at the trials of the four former Minneapolis police officers charged in.