Prosecutors filed motions Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court seeking approval to try all four former police officers charged in the May 25 killing of George Floyd in a single trial.
The prosecutors said they considered four factors in weighing whether to seek one trial:
• The charges and evidence against all four defendants are similar.
• Eyewitnesses and family members are likely to be traumatized by multiple trials.
• Defendants will not be prejudiced by joining the cases because their defenses are not antagonistic.
• And the interests of justice favor a single trial to avoid delays and undue burdens on the state, the court and the witnesses, and because publicity related to verdict may run the risk of prejudicing a jury pool in sequentially scheduled trials.
Former officers Thoms Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao are each charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. Former officer Derek Chauvin is charged with one count each of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
“Here, the evidence establishes that all four Defendants were present at the scene of Floyd’s murder and worked together to commit the crime,” a filing in support of the motion read. “Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for about nine minutes. During that same time, Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back and held Floyd’s handcuffed wrists in place. Lane restrained Floyd’s legs by kneeling on them and pressing them down with his hands. And Thao placed himself between his codefendants and the gathering crowd, pushing the onlookers back to the sidewalk, preventing them from intervening to assist Floyd, and thereby enabling the other Defendants to maintain their positions.”
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August 13, 2020 at 04:43AM
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Prosecutors seek permission for one trial for all four former officers charged in George Floyd's killing - Minneapolis Star Tribune
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