The Minnesota trial for three former Minneapolis police officers charged in connection with the May 2020 death of George Floyd has been scheduled for June, as jury selection for the trio’s federal case is underway in nearby St. Paul.
Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter A. Cahill announced the trial for former cops Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao, who face state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter, would be pushed back by several weeks to June 13, 2022, Thursday court papers show. The trial had originally been scheduled to begin on March 7, but the prosecution and defense requested the proceedings be delayed until the officers’ federal court case could play out.
MINNEAPOLIS EX-POLICE OFFICERS’ TRIAL: JURY SELECTED IN FEDERAL CASE ON GEORGE FLOYD’S CIVIL RIGHTS
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)
(Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)
Jury selection for the federal matter began Thursday. The trial will resume Monday.
Floyd, a Black man, died on May 25, 2020, when ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee against Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds as he was handcuffed and face-down. Floyd, 46, could be heard in now-viral video shouting that he could not breathe before becoming unresponsive.
EX-MINNEAPOLIS COPS FACING FEDERAL CHARGES IN GEORGE FLOYD DEATH WILL BE TRIED TOGETHER
Chauvin was convicted of state charges in April 2021. He pleaded guilty last month to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
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Lane, Kueng and Thao are charged federally with depriving Floyd of his civil and constitutional rights while serving under the authority of the government, and depriving him of his medical needs despite that he was “in clear need of” aid. Thao and Kueng are also charged with failing “to stop Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force,” the U.S. Justice Department said in May.
