'1-minute error changes nothing': Derek Chauvin had knee on George Floyd for 7:46 minutes, not 8:46 minutes
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd's neck for 7 minutes, 46 seconds and not 8 minutes, 46 seconds as widely reported, and acknowledged by Minnesota prosecutors on Wednesday. The prosecutors however added that the one-minute error changes nothing in the criminal case against the four officers involved in Floyd's arrest, according to CBS Local Minnesota.
The original May 29 complaint alleges that Chauvin “had his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in total. Two minutes and 53 seconds of this was after Mr. Floyd was non-responsive.” However, it was later found the former officer had his knee on Floyd for 7 minutes, 46 seconds – as per timestamps cited in the document's description of the incident.
“These kinds of technical matters can be handled in future amendments to the criminal complaint if other reasons make it necessary to amend the complaint between now and any trials,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman’s office said in a statement. “The one minute error made no difference in the decision to charge nor in the continuing legal hearings.”
The Associated Press reported that they "began asking about the error the day after the initial charges were filed and continued to inquire about it after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison became the lead prosecutor on the case." However, the prosecutors "repeatedly declined to address the discrepancy, even as the time frame of 8:46 began being used by protesters worldwide," according to the news agency.
On June 3, prosecutors reiterated the 8 minutes, 46 seconds detail while adding a more serious murder charge against Chauvin and announcing charges against the other officers.
"The AP published a story about the issue June 4, and at the time John Stiles, a spokesman for Ellison’s office, said prosecutors were continuing to review new evidence," the agency reported.
Floyd died on May 25, Memorial Day after former officer Chauvin used his knee to pin Floyd to the ground and continued to kneel on his neck despite repeated pleas that he couldn't breathe. The officer has now been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and manslaughter.
The other officers, namely Tou Thao, J. Kueng, and Thomas Lane, have been fired and charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter. If convicted, all four officers face up to 40 years in prison.
That said, the one-minute detail isn't likely to have any major legal significance in the case.
However, it's worth noting that the 8:46 was widely used by outraged protesters and mourners as a subtle way to honor Floyd amid several angry riots and clashes with law enforcement.
“A one-minute difference is not significant in the grand scheme of things,” Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights activist and former head of the Minneapolis NAACP told AP.
“The bottom line is, it was more than enough time for Derek Chauvin to know that he was literally choking the life out of George Floyd," she continued. “It was more than enough time for any rational, compassionate, and professional human being to know that their actions were deadly and unconscionable."
Demonstrators staged “die-ins” for precisely 8 minutes, 46 seconds earlier this month, while Democrats in Washington gathered at the U.S. Capitol’s Emancipation Hall for nearly nine minutes of silence. At Floyd's Minneapolis memorial service, mourners stood in silence for 8 minutes, 46 seconds after MSNBC host Al Sharpton asked them to “think about what George was going through, laying there for those eight minutes, begging for his life.”
“We can’t let this go,” he said. “We can’t keep living like this.”