Officers in Floyd killing appear in court
Judge bans video, audio coverage over fears of tainting jury pool
MINNEAPOLIS — Four former police officers charged in the killing of George Floyd, whose death set off worldwide protests, participated in a pretrial hearing Monday, as the criminal case against them inches forward. Yet members of the public — unless they get one of the small number of socially distanced seats in the courtroom — were unable to watch.
The judge in the case Friday banned video and audio coverage of the proceedings, worried it could taint the pool of potential jurors.
Lawyers for the officers had filed a motion asking the judge to allow video coverage, arguing that doing so would provide greater public access to the proceedings in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
They also cited “multiple inappropriate public comments” from local officials — including a statement from the police chief that the killing of Floyd was “murder” — that they said had already prejudiced potential jurors.
“The state’s conduct made a fair and unbiased trial extremely unlikely, and the defendants seek video and audio coverage to let a cleansing light shine on these proceedings,” wrote Thomas C. Plunkett, a lawyer for one of the officers, in a motion.
Several news organizations, including The New York Times, had also filed motions for video and audio access to the court.
The arguments over video cameras in the courtroom, even as the video of Floyd’s killing is in wide circulation, underscored what is likely to be one of the most vexing and contested issues as the case inches toward trial: how to seat an impartial jury.
But jury selection is still far off in a trial that might not begin until spring. The death of Floyd, who gasped for air as he was pinned under an officer’s knee for more than eight minutes, was captured by a bystander on a cellphone video that quickly went viral, sparking weeks of protests against police brutality and racism.
The demonstrations, which spread to all 50 states and around the world, began as outrage and anguish over another Black man dying at the hands of police. But demands for justice and police accountability quickly grew into a broad reckoning with racism in all its forms, with America’s most sustained period of civil unrest in decades.
Officials in Minneapolis and elsewhere have scrambled to meet the demands of protesters, proposing to shift funds from police departments to other social programs, institute reforms such as banning chokeholds and hold officers accountable in court for unlawful uses of force.
In Minneapolis, a majority of the city council has vowed to dismantle the Police Department and reimagine how to manage public safety.
On Sunday, Mayor Jacob Frey and the Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo, announced what they described as the first in a series of police reforms: prohibiting officers involved in incidents from reviewing body camera footage before completing an initial report.
“Requiring officers who may become suspects to complete a police report before reviewing bodycam footage will help ensure that investigators, attorneys and jurors receive a transparent account of how an officer remembers the incident — one that hasn’t been influenced by other evidence,” the officials said in a statement.
At the pretrial hearing Monday afternoon at a jail and court complex in central Minneapolis, all four defendants in the Floyd case were expected to participate either in person or by video from jail. At the hearing, a variety of issues were likely to be discussed; they could include adjustments to bail, arguments over a gag order limiting trial participants from speaking to the media and a trial schedule.
The defendants were not likely to enter pleas Monday.
Derek Chauvin, 44, a 19-year-veteran whose knee pinned Floyd to the ground until his last breaths, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and is being held on at least $1 million (U.S.) bail. He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.
Three other officers are charged with aiding and abetting in the death. Two of them, both junior officers — Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng — are out on bail.
Another officer, Tou Thao, remains in custody, said his lawyer.
For now, the four former officers’ cases are being handled together. But they could ultimately be split up and tried separately.
Already, lawyers for Lane and Kueng have sought to shift the blame to Chauvin. At an earlier hearing, Plunkett pointed to Chauvin’s culpability, saying, “at multiple times, Kueng and Lane directed their attention to that 19-year veteran and said, ‘You shouldn’t do this.’ ” Thao had met with prosecutors before Chauvin’s arrest.
Taken together, the actions of the three officers indicate that the so-called blue wall of silence — officers sticking together to the same story and not speaking out against one another — has already crumbled.
Floyd, 46, died May 25 after officers responded to a 911 call from a worker at Cup Foods, a convenience store in south Minneapolis, complaining that Floyd had tried to buy cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill.
Kueng and Lane were the first officers to show up, but were unable to secure the arrest when Floyd resisted getting into their squad car, saying he was claustrophobic.
Then Chauvin and Thao arrived, and minutes later Floyd was on his stomach, laying on the ground. Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck, while Kueng held his back and Lane his legs.
As a bystander filmed the unfolding events, and a crowd of others pleaded with the officers to stop, Floyd, with minutes left of his life, repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe.”
In Minneapolis, a majority of the city council has vowed to dismantle the Police Department and reimagine how to manage public safety