A judge has reinstated a charge of third-degree murder against the fired police officer who was filmed with his knee on George Floyd's neck.
As reported by The Independent, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is currently being prosecuted for the death of Floyd, after he was recorded kneeling on the victim's neck for approximately eight minutes during an arrest on May 25 last year.
In the footage, Floyd could be seen telling the arresting officers that he couldn't breathe, and subsequently lost consciousness. Floyd was pronounced dead an hour later.
Now, Judge Peter Cahill, who will preside over the trial at Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis, ruled on Thursday (March 11) that Chauvin should also be tried with third-degree murder, as well as an existing second-degree murder charge.
A Hennepin County judge opted to reinstate the charge - which had been dismissed back in October - but the state appealed the decision, ordering Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill to reconsider.
The Metro reports that Chauvin's defense team has denied the murder charge - sometimes called a "depraved mind" murder - as well as the charge of second-degree manslaughter.
The Independent adds that third-degree murder charges are not common, and are only found in three states - Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Florida.
Typically, a third-degree murder is when someone unintentionally kills someone while doing something dangerous.
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty.
Floyd, a former security guard who lost his job as a result of the COVID Pandemic, died on May 25, 2020, after four police officers were summoned to a grocery store in Powderhorn Park after the proprietor suspected Floyd of attempting to use a counterfeit banknote to pay for his purchases.
Floyd was handcuffed face down in the street, with later security footage showing that Chauvin knelt on his neck with his knee, obstructing his airway, for around eight minutes.
From the ground level, Floyd repeatedly asked for help and pled for leniency, even stating audibly "I can't breathe" more than 20 times, BBC News reports.
During the final two minutes of Chauvin's protracted restraining measures, Floyd fell motionless and had no pulse. The four officers at the scene, upon realizing what had happened to him, called for medical assistance but took no action to treat him.
Floyd's death and treatment at the hands of the cops ignited a wave of outrage and condemnation across the United States, provoked weeks of violent and peaceful protests, and added yet more fuel to the debate around racial profiling and police brutality, both in America and beyond.