Minneapolis Cop’s Charges Upgraded, Others to Be Arrested on ‘Aiding and Abetting’

It is by no means a solution to the problems that our nation faces, but it is something.

Derek Chauvin, the police officer seen brutally suffocating George Floyd with a knee to the neck, is no longer being charged with 3rd degree murder.

Derek Chauvin, a fourth former officer who had already been charged with third-degree murder in the case, will now be charged with second-degree murder in addition to the previous charge against him, according to the records, which were filed Hennepin County Court by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

In addition, the other officers seen kneeling on Floyd and standing idly by as he perished will face the music as well.

Three former Minneapolis police officers were charged Wednesday with aiding and abetting murder in connection with the death of George Floyd in their custody, according to court records.

The three ex-cops who had not yet been facing charges, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, assisted Chauvin in arresting Floyd on Memorial Day on the suspicion that Floyd passed a counterfeit bill. All four officers were fired last week.

Those charges are no joke.

Thao, 34, Kueng, 26, and Lane, 37, are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The first count has a maximum possible sentence of 40 years in prison, while the manslaughter-related count has a 10-year maximum prison sentence.

We have a long way to go still in the fight against racism here in the United States, but this step in the right direction proves the power of the First Amendment to affect change.  For that, much of the nation is grateful.