A judge on Thursday dismissed a third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin, one of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin, who was released from custody this month on $1 million bond, will still face charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, Hennepin County Judge Peter A. Cahill ruled.
Video shows Chauvin pressing his knee onto Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while he is handcuffed and yelling that he can’t breathe.
Cahill also upheld the charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter against the officers – Tou Thao, Thomas K. Lane and J. Alexander Kueng – who were present at the time of the video.