Appeals court considers new charge against 3 ex-cops accused in George Floyd's death

Appeals court considering new charge against 3 former cops facing trial for George Floyd's death

A Minnesota appeals court is considering whether to allow prosecutors to file an additional charge against three former Minneapolis police officers already accused of aiding Derek Chauvin in the killing of George Floyd during a 2020 arrest. At a virtual hearing on Thursday, a prosecutor from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office asked the state Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court ruling preventing a charge of third-degree aiding and abetting murder from being filed against Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao. The former officers are already charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. They have all pleaded not guilty and are awaiting a trial scheduled for March 2022. Prosecutor Neal Katyal asked the three-judge panel to allow his office to file the new charge based on an earlier ruling by the appellate court finding that Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill erred when he dismissed a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin in February, about a month before Chauvin went on trial.