Judge alters charges against Minneapolis officer

The former police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck, sparking a wave of racial protests and riots across the country this past summer, still faces one count each of second-degree murder and manslaughter. Prosecutors point to the county medical examiner’s report, which called Floyd’s death a homicide. They say former officer Derek Chauvin intentionally assaulted Floyd on May 25. Defense attorneys argue Floyd most likely died of the drugs in his system and say Chauvin and the other officers had no ill intent.

What changed? Hennepin County, Minn., Judge Peter Cahill on Wednesday dismissed a charge of third-degree murder against Chauvin saying the state showed enough probable cause to send the matter to trial on all other counts. Three other former officers, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao, stand accused of aiding and abetting.

Dig deeper: Read Megan Basham’s review of the documentary What Killed Michael Brown? which takes an in-depth look at the police death of an African American teenager in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014.