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A Minnesota judge has dismissed a third-degree murder charge filed Online Cigarettes Store USA against the former Minneapolis police officer who pressed his knee against George Floyd's neck, saying there was not enough probable cause for that count to proceed to trial. The more serious second-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin remains.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill's ruling, dated Wednesday and made public Thursday, found probable cause for Chauvin to be tried on one count of unintentional second-degree murder and one count of second-degree manslaughter. Cahill also found probable cause to move forward with the aiding and abetting counts against three other former officers, Thomas Newport Cigarettes Shop Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao.
“In this court's view, with one exception, the State has met its burden of showing probable cause that warrants proceeding to trial against each of these Defendants on each of the criminal charges the State has filed against them, ” Cahill wrote. He said a jury will decide whether they are guilty.
Floyd, a Black man in handcuffs, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee Newport box 100s cigarettes against Floyd’s neck as he said he couldn’t breathe. Floyd's death sparked protests in Minneapolis and beyond, and led to a nationwide reckoning on race. All four officers were fired. They are scheduled to stand trial in March.