State prosecutors are asking to have a 3rd degree murder charge reinstated against Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis officer who is accused of killing George Floyd.
A 3rd degree murder charge was dismissed last year by Judge Peter Cahill. But the Attorney General's Office is asking to have the charge reinstated based on this week's Minnesota Court of Appeals decision in the Mohamed Noor case.
Noor is the former Minneapolis Officer who shot and killed Justine Damond. He was convicted of third-degree murder. In it's motion, the state argues that the the appeals court ruling upholds a 3rd degree murder conviction even as Noor's acts were "directed at one specific person."
In his ruling dismissing the 3rd degree charge against Chauvin, Judge Cahill argued that the charge would only have applied if Chauvin were acting in a manner that endangered others, and not just George Floyd.
As it stands now, Chauvin is charged with 2nd degree unintentional murder and 2nd degree manslaughter.
