Defense rests in federal trial of officers in George Floyd's killing
ST. PAUL, MINN. >> The defense attorney for the third former Minneapolis officer charged with violating George Floyd's civil rights as Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck rested his case Monday, after the officer testified that he didn't realize how dire Floyd's condition was until paramedics turned him over.
Thomas Lane testified that it was the first time he had seen Floyd's face since officers had struggled with 46-year-old Black as they tried to arrest him. While Floyd was handcuffed, facedown on the pavement, Lane held Floyd's legs and testified that he thought he saw Floyd's chest rise and fall, and believed Floyd still had blood pressure based on the appearance of veins in his arm.
“What went through your mind when you saw his face there, once he was tipped over?” Gray asked.
“Um. He didn't look good,” Lane said. Lane's co-defendants, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, presented their cases last week. Kueng knelt on Floyd's back and Thao kept bystanders back.
All three former officers are all charged with depriving Floyd of his right to medical care. Kueng and Thao are also charged with failing to intervene to stop Chauvin in the May 25, 2020, killing that triggered protests worldwide and a re-examination of racism and policing.
The trial was nearing an end just as another major civil rights went to a jury Monday in Georgia. In that case, three White men are charged with hate crimes in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-yearold Black man who was chased and shot in February 2020.
Closing arguments in the Minnesota trial are scheduled for Tuesday.
Under cross-examination, Lane told prosecutor Samantha Trepel that he was trained that he had a duty to intervene and to provide medical care if needed. Lane said when someone doesn't have a pulse, CPR should be started as soon as possible “in ideal situations,” but said that isn't always possible in law enforcement.
Lane agreed with Trepel that medical aid should be provided if a person is passed out with someone on their neck. But he also said he didn't know how much pressure Chauvin was applying or where exactly his knee was when Floyd passed out.
Thao testified last week that he was relying on the other three officers to care for Floyd's medical needs while he controlled the crowd and traffic. Kueng, who like Lane was a rookie, said he deferred to Chauvin as the senior officer on the scene.