“It is highly unlikely that the officers INTENDED to kill Floyd in the act of subduing him. Intent plays crucially into any criminal charge.”
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You’re quite right which, assuming they can’t find intent and premeditation, the maximum charge is MURDER IN THE THIRD DEGREE. That’s good for 25 years.
Yep, no intent required in Minnesota for that, but I’ll be shocked if anyone is charged with it.
609.195 MURDER IN THE THIRD DEGREE.
(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.
(b) Whoever, without intent to cause death, proximately causes the death of a human being by, directly or indirectly, unlawfully selling, giving away, bartering, delivering, exchanging, distributing, or administering a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or II, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years or to payment of a fine of not more than $40,000, or both.