Judge allows new charge against cop in George Floyd death

The judge overseeing the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with killing George Floyd, has allowed prosecutors to add an additional charge of third-degree murder against Chauvin, who is already facing a more serious count of second-degree murder.

The decision Thursday most likely clears the way for the trial to move forward. Five jurors —three white men, one black man and a woman of color — were seated by Thursday afternoon. Opening arguments are scheduled to begin March 29.

The jurors will now have an additional murder charge on which they could convict, even if they decide the evidence does not support second-degree murder.

Third-degree murder was the first charge Chauvin faced last year when he was fired by the Minneapolis Police Department and arrested after Floyd’s death on May 25, and prosecutors had sought to reinstate it.

Within days of Chauvin’s arrest, he agreed to plead guilty to third-degree murder, The New York Times reported last month, but then-u.s. Attorney General

William Barr rejected the agreement, which had included an assurance that Chauvin would not face federal civil rights charges.

Judge Peter Cahill later dismissed that charge, but he upheld the second-degree murder charge. If convicted of second-degree murder, Chauvin would likely face 11 to 15 years in prison, though the maximum penalty is up to 40 years. The maximum penalty for the added third-degree murder charge is 25 years. Chauvin, 44, also faces a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals last week ordered Cahill to reconsider whether to add the third-degree murder charge, which has historically been understood to apply to defendants who commit an act that endangers multiple people. But the appeals court broadened the scope of the law in a decision this year and said the charge could be used in cases where only one person was in danger.

“We’re pleased that all judicial avenues are being explored and that the trial will move forward,” the lawyers for the Floyd family, Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, said in a statement.

Chauvin has been free on bail since October and has been present in court since the trial moved ahead this week.

COURT TV/POOL Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, on trial for causing the death of George Floyd, a Black man in his custody, takes notes during pretrial motions Thursday prior to continuing jury selection