Officer who knelt on Floyd previews defense, also seeks dismissal of charges

Minneapolis — Derek Chauvin’s attorney previewed the defense the former Minneapolis police officer will use against charges that he murdered George Floyd, laying out his version of events for the first time in a court filing.

Chauvin’s lawyer, Eric Nelson, argued that his client was using reasonable and authorized force when he knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest May 25 and that the former officer was simply doing his job in trying to restrain a suspect who was “endangering himself and officers” by resisting arrest. Both claims are hotly contested by Floyd’s family and Minneapolis police officials.

In his filing, Nelson asked a Hennepin County District Court judge to immediately dismiss the charges against his client, a motion that is likely to be denied.

Chauvin, who had 19 years’ service with the Minneapolis police, has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s killing, which was filmed by bystanders and sparked worldwide protests over racism and police brutality.

Three other officers at the scene — Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao — have been charged with aiding and abetting.

All four were fired by the Minneapolis Police Department and are to be back in court Sept. 11, with Chauvin expected to appear in person for the first time.

Though Minneapolis police officials have repeatedly said Chauvin was using a restraint technique in violation of department rules, the filing cites training materials to justify the former officer’s conduct, including what his defense said was a 2018 photo from a department training manual showing a demonstration of a knee-on-neck hold similar to the one Chauvin used on Floyd during the Memorial Day encounter.

“Mr. Chauvin did exactly as he was trained to do,” Nelson wrote in the filing. “Any risk created by Mr. Chauvin’s conduct lies largely with those who train MPD officers and those who approve such training.”