Judge Restores Third-Degree Murder Charge Against Derek Chauvin

A judge has restored a third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis cop accused of killing George Floyd.

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill granted the prosecutors’ request to restore the charge after the state Supreme Court rejected Chauvin’s request Wednesday to block the charge.

Chauvin was captured on video kneeling onto Floyd’s neck on May 25, while Floyd was handcuffed, for nine minutes until he died.

He already faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The second-degree murder charge carries a maximum penalty of 40 years.

The reinstated third-degree murder charge carries a maximum penalty of 25 years.

Cahill dismissed the third-degree murder charge in fall 2020 because he thought the circumstances for Chauvin’s case did not meet the criteria for the charge.

Cahill ruled at the time that a third-degree murder charge under state law in Minnesota required proof that someone’s conduct was “eminently dangerous” to those around Floyd instead of just Floyd.

But an appellate court ruling days before jury selection for Floyd’s trial established a precedent to replace what used to be in place.

Cahill said he is now bound by a ruling from a recent court decision which stated that third-degree murder can be used to charge acts toward a single person.

Chauvin and the other officers involved in George Floyd’s death were fired the day after Floyd’s death and later arrested. The officers had been responding to a report of a forgery at a business when the incident took place.

Five jurors have been selected after two days of screening. Opening statements for the trial are scheduled to begin on March 29.