(05-29-2020, 02:47 PM)americus 2.0 Wrote:

(05-29-2020, 02:27 PM)jagibelieve Wrote: Sounds about right.  The murder charge may be hard to prove, but the manslaughter charge should stick.

I'm honestly curious to know how this is not murder. Murder is intentional and manslaughter isn't? I suppose it's the definitions of murder and manslaughter that make it different. I need to look them up to clarify. Then you have the levels of degree that further defines the crime and determines the punishment. 

In my opinion that cop straight up killed that man. Regardless of what happened before the camera started rolling, the man was restrained on the ground with a knee in his throat and two other officers holding him down. Even if the guy had been tripping on PCP, there was no reason for the cop to kneel on his throat for four minutes. None.

It goes back to the statute regarding the charge.  Remember, this is state law that we are talking about, not federal law.  This is how the statute reads for Minnesota law.

Quote:(a) Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years.

The key part is in bold.  Remember, the cop is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  The part in bold has to be proven by the prosecution beyond reasonable doubt to convince a jury to convict.

Now I agree with you that the cop with the knee to the throat had a part in killing the man.  However, it's not known what exactly he died of.  The other thing that is missing is how/why he was taken down to the ground and restrained.  There has to be a reason why he was being held down by 3 police officers and why the officer charged was using that method to restrain him.  That part of what happened hasn't been presented yet to the court of public opinion.

Did he resist and start kicking and spitting?  Remember, he was a very large man and with COVID being "a thing" his possible spitting could have been perceived as a threat.  Did the officer feel that his life or another was in danger due to the actions of the suspect?  Is that why he used such an aggressive tactic?  Was the suspect under the influence of some kind of substance?

Much of the general public as well as much of the media have already made a determination based on a few publicly released video clips without looking at all of the facts and all of the evidence.

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