Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Judge drops third-degree murder charge against former officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyd's death, but second-degree murder charge remains

Judge drops third-degree murder charge against former officer Derek Chauvin in George Floyd's death, but second-degree murder charge remains

A Hennepin County judge has dropped a third-degree murder charge against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd, but denied the defendant's motion to dismiss two other charges against him.



Chauvin still faces the higher charge of second-degree unintentional murder and a second-degree manslaughter charge in Floyd's death on May 25, which sparked nationwide protests and a reckoning over race and policing this summer.

Chauvin, who was released on $1 million bond earlier this month, was seen in videos of the incident kneeling on Floyd's neck for almost eight minutes, while the Black man told Chauvin and three other officers -- Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng -- that he couldn't breathe.

In the ruling issued Wednesday, Judge Peter Cahill also denied motions to dismiss charges against the other now-former Minneapolis police officers, who have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

A hearing was held on the motions in September -- the first time all four defendants appeared in court together.

Cahill's ruling states the jury should decide if the state of Minnesota has proven the guilt of the former officers, writing in his summary that the state has met the burden of probable cause in the charges against Thao, Lane and Kueng.

The exception was the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin. Cahill wrote the charge can "be sustained only in situations in which the defendant's actions were 'eminently dangerous to other persons' and were not specifically directed at the particular person whose death occurred."

But the evidence presented by the state does not show that Chauvin's actions were "eminently dangerous" to anyone but Floyd, the ruling says.

CNN senior legal analyst Laura Coates explained the third-degree murder charge was "odd" to begin with, saying it "wouldn't have stuck."

"Third-degree in Minnesota is meant to be someone firing a gun into a crowd with no specific target or driving down the wrong side of the road," Coates said. "You mean to harm or know that you could harm someone, but you don't have a particular person in mind or a personal vendetta."

In a statement, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who is leading the prosecution of Floyd's death, called the ruling a "positive step forward in the path toward justice for George Floyd, his family, our community, and Minnesota."

"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," Ellison said.

"We look forward to presenting the prosecution's case to a jury in Hennepin County," he added.

Floyd family confident officers will be held accountable, attorney says


Chauvin was initially charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office several days after Floyd was killed, a charge that Floyd's family felt at the time was not strong enough.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ultimately appointed Ellison to take over the case after days of protests and speaking with the Floyd family. Ellison announced a few days later that his office had charged Chauvin with a more serious charge of second-degree murder. Charges were also filed against Lane, Kueng and Thao.

Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump and his co-counsel Antonio Romanucci said in a statement they were "gratified that the court preserved eight of the nine charges," including the second-degree murder charge against Chauvin.

"The family of George Floyd has confidence that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison will make sure that the officers are held accountable to the full extent of the law based on the evidence that we witnessed on that video tape," the statement said.

An attorney for Chauvin declined to comment Thursday. Kueng's attorney said the ruling "reflects considerable scholarship, integrity and work ethic -- which is appreciated." The attorney, Thomas C. Plunkett declined to comment further, saying he was still in the process of reviewing the order.

Attorneys for the other officers did not immediately respond to CNN's requests for comment Thursday morning.

In response to the ruling, Gov. Walz's office announced Thursday he had taken the "precautionary step" of activating the Minnesota National Guard, making them available for "public safety efforts" in the Twin Cities area.

Walz called the ruling a "positive step in the path toward justice for George Floyd."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×