Four Minneapolis police accused of killing George Floyd want separate trials as ringleader Derek Chauvin makes first court appearance
In court for the first time, accused killer cop Derek Chauvin has made a “ludicrous” claim about victim George Floyd.
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The four police officers charged over George Floyd’s murder have turned on each other, arguing in a Minneapolis court through their lawyers they should have separate trials and blaming each other for his death.
The younger officers argue they couldn’t disagree with the actions of Derek Chauvin, the veteran officer charged with murder after being filmed with his knee on Floyd’s neck for almost eight minutes until he stopped breathing.
Chauvin’s lawyer pointed out in court filings ahead of the hearing Friday that his client, who was called as backup to the downtown Minneapolis street after two other officers had already restrained Floyd, believed they had control of the scene.
Chauvin is the only one of the four charged officers who has not been released on bail since the May killing that sparked an ongoing national reckoning over racial inequality in the US.
Former officers Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
As Chauvin made his first appearance in court, the defence teams also indicated they will argue that Floyd, 46, died of a drug overdose, rather than from the arrest.
Chauvin claims a fentanyl overdose was the cause of death, and accused two other officers of not correctly assessing Floyd’s condition.
Prosecutors said the claim of an overdose was “ludicrous” and that his death was “vicious, brutal and dehumanising”.
The hearing drew hundreds of Black Lives Matter protesters, many again taking to the streets of Minneapolis to call for defunding police.
Court filings lodged ahead of the hearing laid out Chauvin’s defence.
“The other defendants are clearly saying that, if a crime was committed, they neither knew about it nor assisted in it,” said Chauvin’s lawyer Eric Nelson.
“They blame Chauvin.”
Nelson said Kueng and Lane were at fault for not calling for medical help despite the fact they believed Floyd was under the influence of drugs.
“Instead, they struggled to subdue Mr. Floyd and force him into their squad car, likely exacerbating his condition considerably,” Nelson said.
“If EMS (ambulance officers) had arrived just three minutes sooner, Mr. Floyd may have survived. If Kueng and Lane had chosen to de-escalate instead of struggle, Mr. Floyd may have survived. If Kueng and Lane had recognised the apparent signs of an opioid overdose and rendered aid, such as administering naloxone, Mr. Floyd may have survived.”
Prosecutors responded that a single trial was in the interests of justice and fairness to witnesses.
“It is impossible to evaluate any individual defendant’s conduct in a vacuum,” they argued.
Assistant Attorney-General Matthew Franks said: “The length of separate trials would delay justice for months if not years.”
Judge Peter Cahill is yet to rule on the matter of separate trials.
The former officer’s defence attorneys also argued that the trial should be moved from Minneapolis because it would not be possible to find an impartial jury.
Thao’s attorney Robert Paule said that finding potential jurors who had not seen news of the case could be impossible.
“There really isn’t a county or even a state in this country where there has not been a lot of publicity about George Floyd’s death,” he said.
This was disputed by Judge Cahill, who pointed out that the killer of Australian woman, Justine Ruszczyk Damond, former officer Mohamed Noor, received a fair trial last year.
He said he would consider moving the trial, set for March next year, if a reliable jury could not be formed.
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Judge Cahill considered a number of other motions but said he would not rule on whether or no the charges would be dropped at the hearing.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the hearing, at one stage holding a “die in” and marking silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time Floyd was filmed being restrained.
The hearing was in the Family Justice Centre, where the trial will be held next year if the defence is not successful in moving it, because it holds city’s biggest courtroom and allows for social distancing.
This reporter is on Twitter: @sarahblakemedia