ST. PAUL, Minnesota — The Federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers accused of violating the civil rights of George Fl...
ST. PAUL, Minnesota — The Federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers accused of violating the civil rights of George Floyd was postponed on Wednesday after one of the former officers tested positive for the coronavirus, court officials said.
Judge Paul Magnuson, hearing the case, did not say which of the three defendants – J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane – had tested positive, but speculation has centered on Mr. Lane, who was the only one of the three who was not in court Wednesday morning.
Mr Lane’s lawyer, Earl Grey, did not respond to a request for comment. Shortly before the judge announced the delay, however, Mr Gray approached a reporter and said, ‘Wait until you hear that’, as he left the courtroom.
Judge Magnuson said the trial, which started last weekwould take a break at least until Monday.
The three former officers face federal and state charges in connection with the May 2020 killing of George Floyd on a Minneapolis street corner. Their state trial is scheduled for later this year.
A fourth former officer, Derek Chauvin, was tried separately in state court for murder and was sentenced in April 2021; he pleaded guilty to the federal charges against him in the case in December.
At the St. Paul US Courthouse, where the three former officers are currently on trial, lawyers, defendants and the public are required to wear masks most of the time in the courtroom, although attendees are not not required to be vaccinated.
The three defendants are loaded for failing to provide medical aid to Mr. Floyd during the encounter, as officers attempted to arrest Mr. Floyd on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill to purchase cigarettes. Mr. Kueng and Mr. Thao are also charged by failing to intervene to prevent Mr. Chauvin from using excessive force as he knelt on Mr. Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, causing Mr. Floyd to lose consciousness and die. The killing sparked mass protests across the country against police brutality and systemic racism.
Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths have risen sharply in recent weeks in Ramsey County, which includes St. Paul. About three-quarters of county residents over the age of 5 have been fully immunized.
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