Posted on 02/11/2021 12:37:28 PM PST by RandFan
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was prepared to plead guilty to third-degree murder in George Floyd’s death before then-Attorney General William Barr personally blocked the plea deal last year, officials said.
The deal would have averted any potential federal charges, including a civil rights offense, as part of an effort to quickly resolve the case to avoid more protests after protests and riots damaged a swath of south Minneapolis, according to two law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of the talks. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.
Barr rejected the deal in part because he felt it was too soon as the investigation into Floyd’s death was still in its relative infancy, the officials said.
That Chauvin had been in plea talks has been previously reported, and those talks appear to have delayed a May 28 news conference called by the U.S. attorney in Minneapolis for nearly two hours as they were ongoing. But the detail on Chauvin agreeing to plead guilty to a specific charge are new and was first reported late Wednesday by The New York Times.
Floyd, a Black man who was in handcuffs at the time, died May 25 after the white officer kneeled on his neck for a number of minutes even as Floyd cried out that he couldn’t breathe. Widely seen bystander video sparked protests in the city, including violence, arson and theft, and quickly spread around the country.
Chauvin was fired soon after Floyd’s death. He is scheduled for trial March 8 on charges including second-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other officers at the scene, also since fired, are scheduled for trial later this year.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Well, I’d always suspected that Barr was a Chauvinist.
He knows he doesn’t have a chance. Is there hope in a country where a big news agency capitalizes black and lowercases White?
Ruining an innocent man's life by holding a first-degree murder charge over his head to compel him to plead guilty to a lesser offense is an outrageous abuse of the criminal justice process.
I’m inclined to think that the cop deserves to spend some time in jail but the 20 years I’ve seen suggested is absolutely outrageous. The dead guy was a career criminal punk and junkie with a bad ticker who chose to resist arrest.
Why?
time in jail for what?....what exactly did he do?....guilty of bad optics maybe....
I predict Chauvin will be convicted. But with the evidence of opioid overdose and knee on neck is approved procedure, the conviction will be overturned on appeal.
I noticed that too.Either both white *and* black are capitalized...or neither are. I,personally,am in favor of neither of them being capitalized.
thats all it was...looked bad...cop did nothing wrong.
Hung Jury.
Followed by plea bargain the involuntarily manslaughter.
Followed by riots and looting.
Did the cop mean for him to die? I strongly doubt it. But he should have handled it differently.
See Post #12
I agree with your post that Floyd was a crackhead career criminal who got his, but Chauvin in jail? Disagree.
There is about as much ‘justice’ in America now as the Stalin kangaroo courts for his opponents.
“Followed by riots and looting.”
What else is new? There are no more cops in Minneapolis thanks to the commie city council. I thought the animals have been rioting non-stop for a year now.
The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized...
Could you elaborate?
“Followed by riots and looting.”
Will happen no matter what!
I’ve seen reports that the neck restraint Chauvin used was actually taught by the MPD. The autopsy report showed that Floyd had something like twice the average lethal amount of fentanyl in his system, had severely blocked arteries, and also did not die of asphyxiation.
It was an ugly situation, but if it wasn’t for extreme racial politics and slimy politicians looking for an issue, Chauvin would not have even been charged. In fact, he may still be found not guilty.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.