George Floyd’s Murder: Three Issues That Could Put Minnesota Justice System To Test -By Segun Ogunlade

George Floyd was a 46-year-old African-American man that died on May 25, 2020, after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for several minutes while he was handcuffed on the ground.

His killing has led to protests and violence throughout the U.S. Floyd was arrested on suspicion of using a forged $20 bill. That wasn’t the first time unarmed Black men have been killed by police in the U.S. in 2014, Eric Garner, a black man, died after New York placed him in a chokehold and he pleaded that he could not breathe. It is unimaginable that in a country that prides itself as a free country, people are not free due to the colour of their skin.
Part of the Derek Chauvin Criminal Complaints on May 29, 2020 reads:

“Mr. Floyd did not voluntarily get in the car and struggled with the officers by intentionally falling down, saying he was not going in the car, and refusing to stand still. Mr. Floyd is over six feet tall and weighs more than 200 pounds.

While standing outside the car, Mr. Floyd began saying and repeating that he could not breathe. The defendant went to the passenger side and tried to get Mr. Floyd into the car from that side and Lane and Kueng assisted.

The defendant pulled Mr. Floyd out of the passenger side of the squad car at 8:19:38 p.m. and Mr. Floyd went to the ground face down and still handcuffed. Kueng held Mr. Floyd’s back and Lane held his legs. The defendant placed his left knee in the area of Mr. Floyd’s head and neck. Mr. Floyd said, “I can’t breathe” multiple times and repeatedly said, “Mama” and “please,” as well. The defendant and the other two officers stayed in their positions.

The officers said, “You are talking fine” to Mr. Floyd as he continued to move back and forth. Lane asked, “should we roll him on his side?” and the defendant said, “No, staying put where we got him.” Officer Lane said, “I am worried about excited delirium or whatever.” The defendant said, “That’s why we have him on his stomach.” None of the three officers moved from their positions.

BWC video shows Mr. Floyd continue to move and breathe. At 8:24:24, Mr. Floyd stopped moving.

At 8:25:31 the video appears to show Mr. Floyd ceasing to breathe or speak. Lane said, “want to roll him on his side.” Kueng checked Mr. Floyd’s right wrist for a pulse and said, “I couldn’t find one.” None of the officers moved from their positions.

The defendant 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. Police are trained that this type of restraint with a subject in a prone position is inherently dangerous.

As the nationwide protests continue all over the U.S., there are three issues that need to be examined in this case because of their complicated nature and could go a long way in the way justice is served at the end of the day.

One, there were four police officers involved in the case and all of them have been fired by the Minneapolis Police Department. But as at today, only the officer that knelt on his knee, Derek Chauvin, has been charged to court. The other three were not detained nor charged with any crimes, including the two officers that knelt on his back. If the three officers were only doing their job, why were they fired? For them to be relieved of their duties, it means they are guilty of something. The criminal complaint document says Thomas Lane and J.A. Keung held his back and his legs respectively. That makes them part of the murder because of the pressure they exerted on his body. The fourth officer, Tou Thoa, was not mentioned as taking a part in how George Floyd was handled by his colleagues. But the fact that he knew what the other three officers was doing to George Floyd was dangerous and did nothing to stop it made him nonetheless culpable as an accomplice in the crime. All four of them should be facing murder charges and not only Derek Chauvin. Thomas Lane, J.A. Keung and Tou Thoa are no less guilty than Derek Chauvin in this matter.

Two, the autopsy report is also a matter of concern. The two autopsy reports conducted separately have confirmed his death was a homicide but differs in part on its cause. The original criminal complaints against Derek Chauvin cited the medical examiner’s office in its preliminary findings where it said it there was no findings of strangulations on George Floyd. According to the preliminary report cited in the criminal complaints against Derek Chauvin, “The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death.”

According to Hennepin County Medical Examiner on Monday 1 June 2020, Floyd had recently used methamphetamine and was intoxicated on fentanyl while he also had hypertension and coronary artery disease. The release said all of these possible factors contributed to his death but the restraint and compression on his neck still remain the leading factors. The statement ruled that George Floyd died from asphyxiation, although the full county’s full autopsy report has not yet been released.

However, two doctors who carried out an independent autopsy of for the family of Floyd, Dr Allecia Wilson and Dr Michael Baden said that Floyd had no underlying health condition that may have contributed to his death. The autopsy stated that “asphyxiation from sustained pressure was the cause of Floyd’s death. According to Dr Wilson, the evidence pointed to homicide by mechanical asphyxiation which occurs when a physical force interfered with oxygen supply. They argued he was killed by the police officer who was kneeing Floyd’s neck and the two officers who were pressing their weight onto his back while he was on the ground. Whilst he was on the ground, the neck and back compression led to a lack of blood flow to the brain because the weight on his back and the positioning of his body made it difficult for his diaphragm to function. They added that they did not have information on toxicology and any long drug or alcohol use by Floyd.

The fear now is that “in numerous high-profile cases of killings by police, charges were not filed even after the government autopsy reports have rules the deaths a homicide,” says The Guardian. This means that autopsy reports don’t count for much if the state government doesn’t want it to. The question then is whether the charges will be reviewed based on the new autopsy reports or not. Besides, whose report carries more weight – the government report or the family’s or was he killed by the actions of the police or he died due to his underlying health conditions that the independent doctors could not identify?

Three, Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. According to Minnesota law, third-degree murder means “causing the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life but with no intent to kill.” The offense carries a sentence of more than 25 years or a fine of no more than $40,000 or both. However, sentencing guidelines normally recommend 12-and-a-half years for a conviction on the third degree murder charge and four years for manslaughter.

But video evidences show that the action of the police officer was in fact deliberate as he threatened to mace bystanders as he pinned Floyd to the ground. And when takes into cognizance that it wasn’t the first time that a Black man had been killed by police officers, then it becomes glaring that this act is one too many. The charges should be elevated to first degree murder and deliberate manslaughter because the incident fits a higher degree murder charges in Minnesota which requires that a person plans and willingly carries a killing or has the intention to kill in the spur of the moment.

The fact that the charge against Derek Chauvin came four days after the incident made it particularly disturbing. Legal experts are of the opinion that the third-degree murder charge is legally defective. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) predicts Chauvin will evade punishment unless charges are revised to either first-degree or second-degree murder. ACLU Minnesota in a statement said, “Third degree Murder applies only when the acts of the defendant were committed without regard to their effect on any particular person, and not when the actions of were directed to a specific person. Minnesota courts have repeatedly ruled that to support a charge of Third Degree Murder, the offender’s action have to be eminently dangerous to more than one person. This has been the law in Minnesota since 1896 and includes numerous State Supreme Court decisions stretching all the way to the present saying the same thing.”

The actions of the police were directed to George Floyd alone and a third-degree murder charge is not the right charge due to the nature of the offence. According to Sarah Davis who is an associate director at Minneapolis’s Legal Rights Center, “Minneapolis police officers callously and brutally killed George Floyd. A more serious charge of first- or second-degree murder is absolutely warranted here, and in the light of the failure of the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to prosecute this case in a timely and legally supported manner, it is critical that a special prosecutor be appointed immediately to avoid a gross miscarriage of justice.”

Whilst we all watch as events continue to unfold as regards this case and hoping that the State of Minnesota will do the right thing, we should ponder on the words of Ben Crump, one of Floyd’s family attorney that “George died because he needed a breath, a breath of air. I implore you all to join his family in taking a breath – taking a breath for justice, taking a breath for peace.”

#BlackLivesMatter
#NoToRacism

Written by Segun Ogunlade