June 04, 2020
Chauvin, Other Officers Charged While Floyd had COVID
Timothy Birdnow
Recently the charges against killer cop Derek Chauvin were upgraded from third to second degree murder, and his fellow officers - Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng - were also charged. (Do note that Keung and Thao are not caucasion so cannot be accused of "white supremacy" in this case. Lane is white, a former juvenile detention officer.)
Chauvin had originally been charged with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
His fellow officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony, and with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence. These are both considered "unintentional" but they are felonies.
On the latter I concur. On the former I do not.
First, second degree murder is characterized as follows in Minnesota law:
whoever causes the death of a human being, without intent to effect the death of any person, while committing or attempting to commit a felony offense other than criminal sexual conduct in the first or second degree with force or violence or a drive-by shooting†is guilty of murder in the second degree.
They wouldn't have had that problem had they stuck with third degree. But third degree has lesser penalties; no more than 25 years or a fine of no more than $40,000, or both. The pressure to upgrade was strong, but it may have cost them their case.
In Minnesota (one of only three states to have murder in the third) you also have to have "an eminently dangerous act committed with a depraved mind and without regard for human life." That clearly fits better than murder 2 which requires intent (though no pre-planning.)
Chauvin is also being charged with second degree manslaughter. The findlaw article defines the difference between that and the murder charge as:
I'm not sure how you can charge second degree murder - which says there is malice aforethought - with second degree manslaughter which says there is not. It's a shotgun approach; throw charges up and see which sticks.
That's not how American law is SUPPOSED to work, but too often these days it's how it is done.
At any rate, I don't think you can prove an intent in this.
As for his fellow officers, they stood idly by and did nothing while George Floyd was killed. I don't think there is any question that they fall into the "aiding and abetting' category, and as such should be prosecuted. You can be charged with murder if you are involved in a felony where someone dies, so they are fortunate to not be charged with more. But again, I don't know how you charge them with both when those charges are contradictory. Chauvin either committed manslaughter or second degree murder. You cannot both intend and not intend to kill someone.
A few more points. In 2016 the Minneapolis Police Department amended their regulations to require officers to intervene and report misconduct and excessive force. The attending officers did not do that (of course they were fired for that negligence, as they should have been.)
Officer Tou Thao was sued for beating up a man who was walking down the street with his pregnant girlfriend. His record isn't as bad as Chauvins, but he was no choir boy.
Mr. Floyd tested positive for COVID 19! This will muddy the waters in the case for murder 2 as the coronavirus causes lung inflammation and breathing problems. The defense will use this. They will argue his death was caused by the virus, and that he should have been in quarantine.
According to the ABC News article:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/george-floyd-protest-updates-arrests-america-approaching-10000/story?id=71038665
Another question; are the authorities going to try everyone together or seperately? That could make a big difference to how this plays out.
It's going to be terribly difficult to find an impartial jury. It's going to be equally difficult to follow the law when rioting and looting are likely to break out of the jury finds for the defendant.
This is a very bad thing all around and it will only get worse.
Recently the charges against killer cop Derek Chauvin were upgraded from third to second degree murder, and his fellow officers - Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng - were also charged. (Do note that Keung and Thao are not caucasion so cannot be accused of "white supremacy" in this case. Lane is white, a former juvenile detention officer.)
Chauvin had originally been charged with third degree murder and second degree manslaughter.
His fellow officers were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder while committing a felony, and with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter with culpable negligence. These are both considered "unintentional" but they are felonies.
On the latter I concur. On the former I do not.
First, second degree murder is characterized as follows in Minnesota law:
whoever causes the death of a human being, without intent to effect the death of any person, while committing or attempting to commit a felony offense other than criminal sexual conduct in the first or second degree with force or violence or a drive-by shooting†is guilty of murder in the second degree.
Someone found guilty faces a prison sentence of no more than 40 years.
The question is, can this be proven in a court of law? An unbiased jury may be hard-pressed to convict for murder in the second precisely because these officers were not engaged in a felony; they were attempting to subdue a prisoner. This is a bit murky here, as one must ask at what point a legal arrest and attempt to subdue becomes felonious. The knee on the neck is most certainly excessive and it can well be argued as felonious assault, but the defense will be able to make the case that it was misjudgment and not definable as a felony.They wouldn't have had that problem had they stuck with third degree. But third degree has lesser penalties; no more than 25 years or a fine of no more than $40,000, or both. The pressure to upgrade was strong, but it may have cost them their case.
In Minnesota (one of only three states to have murder in the third) you also have to have "an eminently dangerous act committed with a depraved mind and without regard for human life." That clearly fits better than murder 2 which requires intent (though no pre-planning.)
Chauvin is also being charged with second degree manslaughter. The findlaw article defines the difference between that and the murder charge as:
The difference between third-degree murder and manslaughter often
depends on the defendant's state of mind at the time of the killing. In
Minnesota, for example, someone can be convicted of manslaughter in the second degree if
they knew they were unreasonably risking someone else's life and took
that chance. This is different from third-degree murder, where the
person must act with a depraved mind and malice (wanton disregard for human life).
I'm not sure how you can charge second degree murder - which says there is malice aforethought - with second degree manslaughter which says there is not. It's a shotgun approach; throw charges up and see which sticks.
That's not how American law is SUPPOSED to work, but too often these days it's how it is done.
At any rate, I don't think you can prove an intent in this.
As for his fellow officers, they stood idly by and did nothing while George Floyd was killed. I don't think there is any question that they fall into the "aiding and abetting' category, and as such should be prosecuted. You can be charged with murder if you are involved in a felony where someone dies, so they are fortunate to not be charged with more. But again, I don't know how you charge them with both when those charges are contradictory. Chauvin either committed manslaughter or second degree murder. You cannot both intend and not intend to kill someone.
A few more points. In 2016 the Minneapolis Police Department amended their regulations to require officers to intervene and report misconduct and excessive force. The attending officers did not do that (of course they were fired for that negligence, as they should have been.)
Officer Tou Thao was sued for beating up a man who was walking down the street with his pregnant girlfriend. His record isn't as bad as Chauvins, but he was no choir boy.
Mr. Floyd tested positive for COVID 19! This will muddy the waters in the case for murder 2 as the coronavirus causes lung inflammation and breathing problems. The defense will use this. They will argue his death was caused by the virus, and that he should have been in quarantine.
According to the ABC News article:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/george-floyd-protest-updates-arrests-america-approaching-10000/story?id=71038665
8:33 p.m.: Floyd died of cardiopulmonary arrest; tested positive for COVID-19
The Hennepin Medical Examiner's office released the full 20-page autopsy of George Floyd and revealed that he had previously tested positive for COVID-19, but was likely asymptomatic when he died in late May.
The report said he initially tested positive for COVID-19 back on April 3. A post mortem nasal test was performed on Floyd on May 26, one day after his death, and it came back positive for 2019-nCoV RNA.
"Since PCR positivity for 2019-nCoV RNA can persist for weeks after the onset and resolution of clinical disease, the autopsy result most likely reflects asymptomatic but persistent PCR positivity from previous infection," the report said.
Floyd's death, first released earlier this week, was listed as "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression" with hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl intoxication and methamphetamine listed as additional conditions.
The Hennepin Medical Examiner's office released the full 20-page autopsy of George Floyd and revealed that he had previously tested positive for COVID-19, but was likely asymptomatic when he died in late May.
The report said he initially tested positive for COVID-19 back on April 3. A post mortem nasal test was performed on Floyd on May 26, one day after his death, and it came back positive for 2019-nCoV RNA.
"Since PCR positivity for 2019-nCoV RNA can persist for weeks after the onset and resolution of clinical disease, the autopsy result most likely reflects asymptomatic but persistent PCR positivity from previous infection," the report said.
Floyd's death, first released earlier this week, was listed as "cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression" with hypertensive heart disease, fentanyl intoxication and methamphetamine listed as additional conditions.
Another question; are the authorities going to try everyone together or seperately? That could make a big difference to how this plays out.
It's going to be terribly difficult to find an impartial jury. It's going to be equally difficult to follow the law when rioting and looting are likely to break out of the jury finds for the defendant.
This is a very bad thing all around and it will only get worse.
Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at
08:12 AM
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