Trial postponed for 3 ex-officers charged in George Floyd’s death

The trial for three ex-Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd has been postponed to next year following their indictment on federal civil rights charges.

Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane will now stand trial on March 7, 2022. They were originally scheduled to stand trial this August. The rescheduling follows a motion hearing Thursday morning in Hennepin County District court, where Judge Peter Cahill said the federal case should proceed first. Defense attorneys for the officers did not object to changing the date. Prosecutor Matthew Frank said he disagreed with the new date.

The three, along with ex-officer Derek Chauvin, were indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges of abusing their positions of authority to detain Floyd. According to the charges, the officers used the "color of the law" to deprive Floyd of his constitutional rights to be "free from the use of unreasonable force" when Chauvin pinned Floyd down with a knee on his neck for more than nine minutes, and the other three did nothing to stop him. "This offense resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of George Floyd," the charges state. A federal trial in that case has not yet been scheduled.

Chauvin was convicted three weeks ago of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter in the May 25, 2020 death of Floyd, who was pinned to the ground under Chauvin's knee for more than nine minutes as he pleaded to breathe before he lost consciousness and died. His sentencing is scheduled for June 25.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708