Judge OKs TV trial of Floyd slay cops

Four Minneapolis cops charged in George Floyd’s killing will be tried on live TV, a judge ruled over the objections of prosecutors.

“Televising the trial is the only reasonable and meaningful method” to ensure fair trial and freedom of press rights in the exceptionally high-profile case, Judge Peter Cahill ruled, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

A jury trial in Hennepin County District Court is scheduled for March 8.

News outlets pushed for camera access in the case, and Cahill approved live coverage in November.

Prosecutors in the Minnesota attorney general’s office said the state “welcomes a public trial” but raised fears that media coverage coverage might scare off witnesses. Prosecutors also argued that state law bars video and audio recording if any witness objects, reported Twin Cities television station KSTP.

The decision to allow live footage in the trial of the former officers — Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — is beyond what’s normally allowed by court rules, Cahill acknowledged in his order Friday.

But in sticking with his earlier decision, Cahill noted that he’s allowed to go around the rules “in any case to prevent manifest injustice.” He also cited a shortage of courtroom space for the public in Hennepin County during the pandemic.

Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, suffocated beneath Chauvin’s knee (photo) in May, and the shocking caught-on-video slaying galvanized enormous racial justice protests that stretched across the country and spread overseas.

Chauvin faces charges of second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The other three ex-cops were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

The four officers were fired by the Minneapolis Police Department within a day of Floyd’s death.

Floyd’s killing sparked massive demonstrations and police reform efforts in Minneapolis and across the U.S.

Following thunderous protests in Minneapolis, the city’s mayor, Jacob Frey, proposed leaving 100 police jobs unfilled next year.