Photo: Twitter
The jury began deliberating Wednesday in the civil rights case of three former Minneapolis police officers connected to the killing of George Floyd in 2020. Former officers Tou Thao, 36, J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Thomas Lane, 38, tried to restrain Floyd as Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck and back for more than 9 minutes during the arrest, resulting in Floyd’s death.
Thao, Chauvin’s partner, stood nearby and kept back a crowd of horrified onlookers, while Kueng and Lane — both rookie officers in their first days on the job — restrained Floyd’s torso and legs.
Each faces a count of deprivation of rights under color of law for failing to give Floyd medical aid. Thao and Kueng are also charged with failing to intervene in Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force.
“They chose not to intervene, they chose not to aid Mr. Floyd,” Assistant US Attorney Manda Sertich said in closing arguments. “This is a crime. The defendants are guilty as charged.”
All three ex-officers testified on their own behalf during the trial, a stark contrast from Chauvin’s silence during his state murder trial last year. Their defenses have offered several reasons to try to explain why they didn’t intervene or render aid, saying they were inexperienced, received inconsistent training and deferred to Chauvin’s seniority. Read more.
