Defense Blames Chauvin In Federal Trial Of George Floyd's Death

SAINT PAUL, MN — The defense and prosecuting attorneys made their opening statements Monday in the federal civil rights trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's Memorial Day 2020 death.

The defense quickly blamed former officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted in state court in April 2021 of murder for Floyd's death and pleaded guilty in December to federal charges.

"You’ll see and hear officer Chauvin call all of the shots," Thomas Plunkett, one of the defense attorneys, told the court Monday.

In the spring of 2021, a federal grand jury indicted Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers — Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao — on civil rights violations in Floyd's death.

The federal charges were in addition to the state charges filed against them.

Kueng, Lane, and Thao will stand together in both the federal and state trials. Unlike the state trial, which is set for June, the federal trial will not be live-streamed to the public.

The three-count federal indictment in the death of Floyd claims that the four men — acting in their capacity as police officers — "willfully deprived Mr. Floyd of his constitutional rights."

Their actions resulted in Floyd's death, the indictment states.

Prosecutors on Monday accused Kueng, Lane, and Thao of simply standing by as Chauvin “slowly killed George Floyd right in front of them."

On May 25, 2020, Chauvin was recorded kneeling on Floyd for more than nine minutes, despite Floyd's protests that he could not breathe. Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests demanding racial justice and police reform.

Federal indictment

Count one

Count one specifically notes that Chauvin held his left knee on Floyd's neck — and his right knee on Floyd's back and arm — while Floyd was handcuffed and not resisting. Chauvin kept his knees on Floyd's body even after he became unresponsive, the count states.

The indictment claims that Chauvin's actions violated Floyd's constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer.

Count two

Count two of the indictment claims Thao and Kueng "willfully failed to intervene to stop Chauvin's use of unreasonable force."

Count three

Count three of the indictment claims that all four ex-officers watched Floyd lying on the ground "in clear need of medical care and willfully failed to aid him."

All four officers "willfully deprived Mr. Floyd of his constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, which includes an arrestee's right to be free from a police officer's deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs," the indictment states.

The death of George Floyd

Just after 8 p.m. on Memorial Day, 2020, police responded to the Cup Foods store on 38th Street and Chicago Avenue South in Minneapolis for a report of a "forgery in progress."

Outside the store, police told Floyd he was under arrest.

In a video seen around the world, Floyd is heard telling officers, "I can't breathe," while he is forced down onto the street. He also asks for water.

Bystanders yelled at Chauvin to get off of Floyd, while officers Kueng and Lane assisted Chauvin. A fourth officer — Thao — ordered people, including an off-duty EMS worker, to back away from the scene.

Chauvin kept his knee on Floyd's neck even after he went motionless. All four officers who were at the scene were fired the next day and later criminally charged.

Kueng, Lane, and Thao still face charges of aiding and abetting unintentional second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the Minnesota state court system.

Also read: Here's How The Police Initially Described George Floyd's Death

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.