Derek Chauvin: Judge drops third-degree murder charge against former officer in George Floyd’s death, but second-degree murder charge still stands

Chauvin, from It was issued on a $ 1 million bond earlier this month, In videos of the incident kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes, while the black man told Chauvin and three other officers – Tu Thao, Thomas Lin, and Ji Alexander King – that he could not breathe.

The exception was the third-degree murder charge against Chauvin. Cahill wrote that the charge “could only continue in situations where the defendant’s actions were” extremely dangerous to other people “and were not directed specifically at the person whose death occurred.

But the evidence presented by the state does not show that Chauvin’s actions were “extremely dangerous” to anyone except Floyd, as stated in the ruling.

In a statement, Minnesota State Attorney Keith Ellison, who is leading the trial in Floyd’s death case, described the ruling as “a positive step forward on the road to justice for George Floyd, his family, our community and Minnesota.”

Ellison said: “The court has indicted eight of the nine charges against the defendants in the killing of George Floyd, including the most serious charges against the four defendants.”

“We look forward to the prosecution’s case being presented to a jury in Hennepin County.”

Chauvin’s lawyer declined to comment on Thursday. King’s attorney said the ruling “reflects a great deal of knowledge, integrity and work ethic – something that we value.” Attorney Thomas C. Plunkett declined to comment, saying he was still in the process of reviewing the matter.

Lawyers for the other officers did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for comment Thursday morning. CNN contacted an attorney representing the Floyd family.