Published on: Monday, January 24, 2022

Prosecutors and defense attorneys made their opening statements this morning in the trial of three former Minneapolis police officers who are charged with violating George Floyd's civil rights. Floyd was killed in May of 2020 in Minneapolis after Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin was convicted of murder last year. Floyd's killing sparked calls for increased police accountability across the country (article available here).

The three now ex-Minneapolis police officers are facing federal civil rights charges tied to Floyd's murder. Thao and Kueng also face charges of failing to intervene with Chauvin's treatment of Floyd. Chauvin was convicted on April 20, 2021, in state court of murder and manslaughter for Floyd's killing. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. In December, he also pleaded guilty in federal court to violating Floyd's civil rights but has not yet been sentenced. He'll serve the state and federal prison sentences concurrently.

A jury of 18, including six alternates, was seated in just one day of jury selection.  The jury consists of 10 women and eight men from across the state. A pool reporter in the courtroom during jury selection noted that 16 of the jurors appeared to be white and two appeared to be of Asian descent.

A federal prosecutor told jurors Monday morning that officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane could have saved George Floyd's life in 2020, but they chose not to. Defense attorneys described Floyd's death as a tragedy, but not a crime by their clients.