Trial of two former officers charged in George Floyd’s death delayed to 2023
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill cites pretrial publicity, in part, for moving the case of J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao to January.
A judge has moved the trial of two former Minneapolis police officers charged in relation to George Floyd’s death to January 2023.
Monday’s ruling, by Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, sets jury selection for proceedings against J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao to January 9, and opening arguments for January 30, per CNN. The former Minneapolis police officers face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
They have both already been convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
Thomas Lane, another former Minneapolis Police officer, faces a September 21 sentencing after he pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter as part of a deal. Lane, like his ex-colleagues, has also been convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota, in its announcement last month of the men’s civil rights violation convictions, noted that Kueng placed his knee on Floyd’s lower body for more than eight minutes and that Thao failed to intervene to stop “unlawful force.”
Lawyers for Thao and Kueng asked the court for a change of venue and a trial continuation because of the pretrial publicity. Specifically, the court’s ruling notes Lane’s guilty plea and the federal civil rights convictions of all three former officers.
“These two recent events and the publicity surrounding them are significant in [that] it could make it difficult to presume Thao and Kueng are innocent of state charges,” the court’s ruling said.
Judge Cahill denied the request for a change of venue.
The charges all relate to the May 25, 2020 killing of Floyd, which was recorded by witnesses. For more than nine minutes, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on the neck and back of Floyd, who was handcuffed and lying face down on the pavement following his arrest for allegedly trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill.
Floyd — who told officers at the scene 25 times that he couldn’t breathe — subsequently died. A jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He has since received a sentence of more than 22 years in prison.
Chauvin also pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Floyd’s civil rights. CNN reported that the judge presiding over that case expects to sentence Chauvin to 20 to 25 years. No sentencing date has yet been scheduled.
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