I agree that the cops have no right to murder someone. That's why I don't think this is 1st degree murder. Those other three cops had no idea Floyd was going to die, which is why they weren't more forceful in trying to get the cop off his neck. I think this case is manslaughter every day of the week, murder I'm more iffy on based on the language of the Minnesota statute.
The facts are out. There is first hand testimony from the bishop who was on site, have you read it? There are multiple witnesses claiming the gas was irritating to their respiratory systems. Have you read them? There is a photo of the canister the police threw, have you seen it? People were coughing. Yet you choose to believe the one statement from the defendant over numerous statements from the accusers. Sounds to me like you are giving far more weight to the word of the cop than the protester or bishop. Why is that?
They didn’t know he was going to die? I don’t buy that. Those other three cops stood and watched while while one officer held his knee on Floyd’s neck for over 8 minutes. They heard him say he couldn’t breath. If a person has his air cut off for that long he will die. One of them should have ordered the officer to stop, and he should have pulled his service revolver if he refused. They all kept their mouths shut and did nothing.
Hey, one of then took his pulse - it may have been to late then - however it is a hard case to argue that they were simply bystanders.
One cop was concerned and asked to turn. Floyd on his side. Chauvin refused.
The feds say they did not use tear gas, only smoke bombs were used. That makes sense because less than 30 minutes later Trump walked over there without any irritation to his eyes. The residue of tear gas would have still been in the air and would have bother him, the secret service and all the media who went over there.
I hate defending cops but Floyd resisted arrest which is probably why the other three weren't particularly bothered by what was happening. I also think they were focused on the growing crowd and traffic control, at least for a portion of the time. The case against them is going to be much more difficult to win.
No, they weren't bystanders but they were doing other things as part of the arrest. I think the charge against Chauvin is much easier to prove, though Ellison may be over charging him. I see it's up to 2nd degree murder now. Hopefully there is evidence out there to prove that charge.
Actually if you look at the statutes, 2nd degree is probably easier to prove in this case.
I just read some analysis of Minnesota case law which suggests that he is not guilty of 3rd degree murder because according to their Supreme Court a person can't be guilty if their focus was on one particular person. Essentially 3rd degree murder is for drunk drivers who put the community at risk rather than one specifiic person.
I know it's called felony murder. I think it's going to be incredibly difficult to prove a cop committed a felonious assault here and defense counsel may have a field day with such an accusation. This is not a slam dunk case for the prosecutor.
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