It's not too late to downgrade to manslaughter. The problem is that after the bodycam footage and the training manual showing when and how to use neck restraints came out there just wasn't a case anymore. The officer was calm and professional and he did everything he could to keep the situation from escalating. You can argue that neck restraints are dangerous and have no place in law enforcement but it was clearly in the manual that it was acceptable under those circumstances. Rewrite the manual if you want but it's not the officers fault.
The real problem is that all this evidence would have been available after the first few days of investigation. Why was Burn, Loot, Murder allowed to run rampant with this for so long?
They'll get him on manslaughter. I get it's in the manual, but to MAINTAIN pressure on the neck on a limp man is really fucked up. The guys knew, and didn't like, each other. No one is that stupid to keep applying pressure to a limp man.
Manslaughter is when you unintentionally kill someone while you're in the process of committing a crime. How can it be a crime to apply a hold that's officially approved by the police? That's going to be tough to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt.
It’s almost like they’re realizing they’ll never get him on the ridiculous first degree murder charge and should have stuck with manslaughter.
It's not too late to downgrade to manslaughter. The problem is that after the bodycam footage and the training manual showing when and how to use neck restraints came out there just wasn't a case anymore. The officer was calm and professional and he did everything he could to keep the situation from escalating. You can argue that neck restraints are dangerous and have no place in law enforcement but it was clearly in the manual that it was acceptable under those circumstances. Rewrite the manual if you want but it's not the officers fault.
The real problem is that all this evidence would have been available after the first few days of investigation. Why was Burn, Loot, Murder allowed to run rampant with this for so long?
They'll get him on manslaughter. I get it's in the manual, but to MAINTAIN pressure on the neck on a limp man is really fucked up. The guys knew, and didn't like, each other. No one is that stupid to keep applying pressure to a limp man.
Even manslaughter is tough because he was using an approved method to subdue Floyd.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/29/george-floyd-experts-say-neck-restraint-allowed-minneapolis-can-kill/5274334002/
Manslaughter is when you unintentionally kill someone while you're in the process of committing a crime. How can it be a crime to apply a hold that's officially approved by the police? That's going to be tough to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt.
Besides that, the official coroner's report said that the kneeling wasn't the cause of death. And rumor has it the defense has body cam footage of Floyd swallowing a bunch of fentanyl while he was being arrested. His cause of death was consistent with an overdose. And that bodycam footage will seal the deal.
It's probably impossible for them to secure a conviction in light of all of that. And they know that.