A Minnesota judge has dismissed a third-degree murder charge against the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck, but a second-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin remains.

Floyd, a Black man who was in handcuffs, died May 25th after Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck as Floyd said he couldn’t breathe.

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill’s ruling was made public Thursday dismissing the third-degree murder charge. Chauvin now faces two counts going forward for second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Cahill denied defense requests to dismiss the aiding and abetting counts against three other former officers: Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao.

In light of the developments on Thursday, Gov. Tim Walz activated the Minnesota National Guard to assist local law enforcement in public safety efforts in the greater Twin Cities metro area.

By — Lakeland News