Three former Minneapolis police officers who were with Derek Chauvin when he knelt on George Floyd’s neck until he died have been found guilty in their federal trial.
Gatekeepers News reports that George Floyd, an African-American, died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin knelt on his neck for about 9 minutes while he was handcuffed as the three other officers—J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane—and bystanders watched. The incident triggered protests as people called for justice and an end to racism.
The trio were on Thursday found guilty of violating Floyd’s civil rights. The three officers were all charged with willfully depriving Floyd of his liberty without due process. Thao and Kueng were separately charged with willfully violating Floyd’s rights to be free from unreasonable seizure when they failed to stop Chauvin’s actions.
During the trial—which lasted about a month—the prosecution argued that the officers were obligated to step in and stop Chauvin from kneeling on Floyd’s neck, and should have provided aid to Floyd but failed to do so. As they put it, Floyd’s condition was so severe that, while Chauvin was kneeling on his neck, bystanders and onlookers without medical training could see that he needed help. (In cellphone footage recorded during the incident, many of them are heard calling for such action.)
“They chose not to intervene, they chose not to aid Mr. Floyd,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Manda Sertich said during closing arguments on Tuesday. “This is a crime. The defendants are guilty as charged.”
The defense team focused their attention on the Minneapolis Police Department and its training methods, which they argued was insufficient. In addition, they blamed the culture of the MPD, stating that rookie officers like Lane and Kueng were told to respect senior officers like Chauvin.
The three officers took the stand on their own behalf during the trial, also arguing that their training was inadequate and that they lacked experience. While on the stand, Thao said that he would “trust a 19-year veteran to figure it out,” in reference to Chauvin and his actions.
The officers are still waiting for their state trial, which is scheduled to start on June 13. They’re charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
Gatekeepers News earlier reported that Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, amongst other charges, and sentenced to 22 and half years in prison. He also pled guilty in a federal civil rights case.
