StevePrefonDead wrote:
A quote from Reddit about the Minnesota statute for murder in the third degree, which most people think is the only charge that the prosecution can make stick.
"MURDER IN THE THIRD DEGREE.
"(a) Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years."
Chauvin can only be convicted of murder in the third degree if the prosecution can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was "evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life". Considering the circumstances of the case, I am relatively convinced that the defense may be able to create at least some reasonable doubt regarding Chauvin having a lacking regard for human life.
Let me explain what makes me think that, by going through the body cam footage and then going into what the defense could lean on. (I'm arguing from the standpoint of the defense. What I'm saying here isn't my personal opinion.)
If you watch the entirety of the body cam footage, it's clear that Floyd was acting erratically and the officers were confident that he was under the influence of drugs. The cops were relatively calm throughout most of the proceedings but Floyd had a full blown panic attack when the officers tried to put him into the police car. During this entire time, Floyd kept yelling that he can't breathe, even though nobody was doing anything to his neck, airways, mouth or chest.
At 39:53 of the video, Floyd is sitting on the back seat with his feet on the sidewalk, when his friend, who was with him before the arrest, tells him, "You ain't gonna win." Floyd responds, "I don't wanna win. I'm claustrophobic and I get excited." To which the officer responds "I'll roll the window down." Floyd continues "Man, im scared as fck, man. If I stop breathing, it's going to go out for me, man."
After that, a struggle ensues, where the officers try to get Floyd into the car. He then propels himself out of the other side of the car and yells that he wants to lie on the ground. At 41:27, his friend tells Floyd "You're going to have a heart attack, get in the car." and Floyd keeps yelling that he can't breathe and flops, kicks and struggles around in the car.
At 41:53, the officer with the body cam says "Let's take him out and just MRT." MRT being Maximum Restraint Techniques, which are used as a last resort to get individuals under control who remain violent and/or combative even after being handcuffed. These MRTs are supposed to protect the officers from harm but also to protect the detainee from harming themselves. One of these MRTs, which were trained and recommended by the Minneapolis police department, is the Neck Restraint which they describe as a "non-deadly force option. Defined as compressing one or both sides of a person's neck with an arm or leg, without applying direct pressure to the trachea or airway (front of the neck)". If you're looking at the example picture provided in the handbook, Chauvin performed this neck restraint exactly as recommended.
Then, as soon as he's on the ground, Floyd calls for his mom, tells the officers that they should tell his kids that he loves them and keeps repeating that he can't breathe. Then his friend tells him again to just get in the car, to which he responds that he can't breathe. Later he says that his neck and stomach hurt.
At 45:30, he says, "I can't breathe, Officer." Chauvin responds, "Then stop talking and yelling" Floyd interrupts, "You're going to kill me." and Chauvin finishes with "takes a heck of a lot of oxygen."
At 46:40, the officer with the body cam asks whether they should roll Floyd on the side because he's worried about the delirium. Chauvin responds that they should stay put right now and that the ambulance is less than 5 minutes away.
At 47:40, the officer with the body cam says "I think he's passing out.", at 48:05, he says "He's breathing." and at 48:31, he asks again whether they should roll him on the side. During the entire situation, he also keeps checking Floyd's pulse on his calves, which he does one last time at 49:45 and he still seems to feel it. Right after, you can hear the ambulance arriving and the officers slightly loosen their restraint until the EMTs take over.
Now, Chauvin's defense can use a whole lot of those events to avoid a guilty verdict on those murder charges. This is how I would argue if I had to come up with a defense strategy.
•Floyd had paid with counterfeit money and was legally arrested.
•Floyd was under the influence of fentanyl and was behaving erratically when officers tried to put him into the police car. Even though he was cuffed, he kept kicking and fighting, which endangered the officers' and Floyd's health and therefore justified applying MRTs.
•The MRT Chauvin applied was recommended by the police department and was categorized as a non-lethal force option. Therefore, Chauvin used this technique, which he believed to be non-lethal, to safely restrain Floyd.
•Since Floyd had claimed that he can't breathe throughout the interaction, even before anybody even touched is neck, mouth or chest, Chauvin could not take this claim seriously in the situation, especially since Floyd kept yelling and talking, which proved to Chauvin that Floyd could actually breathe. This becomes very apparent when Chauvin tells Floyd that he should stop talking and yelling, so he can breathe easier. This exchange with Floyd does not make sense if Chauvin actually thought he was obstructing Floyd's trachea.
•Since Chauvin's colleague kept checking Floyd's pulse, he was certain that Floyd had simply passed out due to the stress and drugs in his system and would be treated shortly by EMTs who could deal with his issues.
•Chauvin was trying to keep Floyd restrained until the ambulance arrived, with a technique that was taught to him as being non-lethal. He tried to protect the other officers from harm and Floyd from harming himself in his panic attack. He is extremely sorrowful that Floyd lost his life in this situation, but he acted with the best intentions and according to his training. In no instance did he show a lack of regard for human life.
If the defense team is smart, they are going to go much further than this and will argue that the police department was guilty of recommending dangerous restraining techniques and that Chauvin is in favor of reforming the police, having better de-escalation training and mental health experts within the department, so they can assist the police in situations where they have to deal with mentally ill people, people on drugs and people with panic attacks.
Additionally to all of this, the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Floyd died due to the neck restraint and not due to heart failure caused by his panic attack and the drugs in his system.
With all of this on the table, I don't think it's unlikely that Chauvin will not be convicted of any of the murder charges. (Again, I'm just arguing the standpoint of the defense. This isn't my personal opinion.)"