Minnesota AG considering charging Derek Chauvin of first-degree murder: 'Other three cops also culpable'
Minnesota's Attorney General said on Thursday, June 4 that he would prosecute police officer Derek Chauvin on "anything the facts allow" and that he has not ruled out bringing first-degree murder charges against him for the death of George Floyd.
Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd's neck for more than eight minutes on May 25 while arresting him over a counterfeit $20 bill, has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and third-degree manslaughter in his death.
Recently, three other officers involved in the arrest — Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and JA Kueng — were charged with aiding and abetting murder following nationwide outrage that they should be brought to justice as well. If convicted, all four officers face 40-year terms in prison. Floyd's family reportedly also wants Chauvin's charge increased to first-degree murder, something that would lock him away for life.
To convince a jury that Chauvin deserves the current second-degree unintentional homicide charge on him, prosecutors must prove he intended to harm Floyd but did not intend to kill him. But in order to prosecute him on first-degree murder charges, they must prove Chauvin planned to kill Floyd.
During an appearance on 'Good Morning America' on June 4, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said first-degree murder charges were not out of the question. He was reportedly given the case by the governor on June 1 after public faith in local prosecutors had deteriorated.
"We will charge anything that the facts and the law allow. We are not showing fear or favor to any person. If the facts show premeditation and deliberation and we can present that in front of a jury in good faith, we will present that," he said.
Ellison was then asked whether or not he had sufficient evidence to bring a first-degree murder charge against Chauvin.
"I wouldn't want to comment on what I have or don't have — we've charged the highest ethical charge that we can," he responded.
Ellison appeared to dismiss the notion that Floyd may have died due to any reason other than that the officer was kneeling on his neck and starving him of oxygen. He said the fact that fentanyl was found in Floyd's system in an autopsy was irrelevant.
"You take your victim as you find them. You can't say, 'the person that I victimized was not in the perfect picture of health so it's their fault that they died at my hands'. You take your victim as you find them," he claimed. "Not only is that a fact that should not weigh but you never know, those kind of things that some defense attorneys are going to try to turn to... we don't think it matters in terms of proximate cause."
"Both the medical examiner reports we've seen indicate homicide — death at the hands of another — that is what we think matters most," he added.
According to Ellison, his office was confident in bringing charges against the other three cops at the scene because evidence clearly showed they helped Chauvin in subduing Floyd and did nothing despite his pleas that he couldn't breathe.
"If you look at the tape, you can see who is sitting where, and see the assistance that was giving, meaningful and important assistance to what Chauvin was doing," the state AG remarked. "We can also see what was not done. Even despite the pleas and the cries there was no assistance rendered. We believe they were culpable, they assisted in the commission of this offense — this is why we charged them."
Furthermore, he acknowledged that prosecution was a major step in the pursuit of justice, but said it would not do much to address the nation's outrage against police brutality and systemic racism.
"This is a social change moment and a prosecution is essential to achieving that justice but it is not to achieve all the justice and address all the hurt and pain that people have experienced," Ellison said. "Even beyond policing, some of these problems have to do with inadequate housing, poverty, and racist attitudes that Americans share that are not even in the police department. All that work needs to be done and now is a good time to do it."