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George Floyd Memorial in Minneapolis
Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP
In the trial of the death of the African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation in the US state of Minnesota, Judge Peter Cahill has admitted another charge against ex-police officer Derek Chauvin.
The charge is third degree murder.
Cahill had originally denied a prosecutor's motion to also charge Chauvin with third-degree murder.
There is 25 years imprisonment on it.
However, following rulings by an appeals court on Friday and the state's highest court, the judge granted the motion.
The 46-year-old Floyd was killed in a brutal arrest in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.
The police officers pushed him to the ground in the street, the white officer Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for about eight minutes while Floyd begged him to breathe.
According to the autopsy, Floyd passed out and died.
Chauvin, who was released after the incident and was later released on bail, is also facing trial for second-degree murder without intent.
They are imprisoned for up to 40 years.
Under German law, this charge would correspond to manslaughter.
According to the dpa news agency, Chauvin is also accused of second-degree manslaughter, which could be punished with an additional 10 years in prison.
Proceedings against other police officers separated
The legal dispute over the admission of the charge threatened to delay the start of the main proceedings.
Now everything points to the start of March 29th as planned.
In the court in Minneapolis, the selection of the twelve jurors and four substitute candidates continued.
In addition to Chauvin, three other ex-police officers involved in the operation against Floyd have been charged, but they will be on trial in a separate trial from 23 August.
They are charged with aid.
They too face long prison terms.
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fek / dpa / AP
