A juror seated at the federal trial for the three former Minneapolis police officers accused of violating George Floyd‘s civil rights has been dismissed from the case and replaced with an alternate so he can instead be with his ailing son.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson replaced the juror in the trial of J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao with an alternate on Wednesday morning at day 11 of the federal trial in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Kueng, Lane and Thao are accused of depriving Floyd, 46, of his rights when they failed to give him medical aid as Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the Black man’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while Floyd was handcuffed, facedown. Kueng and Thao are also accused of failing to intervene in the May 2020 killing, which triggered protests worldwide and a reexamination of racism and policing.
FILE – This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota on June 3, 2020, shows, from left, former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao.
(Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)
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Magnuson told the jury that a juror was excused because his son has a serious health condition.
Kueng, who is Black, Lane, who is White, and Thao, who is Hmong American, are charged with willfully depriving Floyd of his constitutional rights while acting under government authority. The charges allege that the officers’ actions resulted in Floyd’s death.
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In this image from Minneapolis city surveillance video, Minneapolis police are seen attempting to take George Floyd into custody May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minn. The video was shown as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides Monday, March 29, 2021, in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, in the death of George Floyd at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis, Minn.
((Court TV via AP, Pool))
They also face a separate state trial in June on charges alleging that they aided and abetted murder and manslaughter.
Chauvin, who is White, was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison after he was convicted of murder and manslaughter in state court proceedings. He pleaded guilty in December to a federal civil rights charge.
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Fox New’s Mills Hays contributed to this report, as well as The Associated Press.
