Defense in Floyd's killing: Officer spoke up, was ignored

ST. PAUL, MINN. >> An attorney for a rookie Minneapolis police officer charged with violating George Floyd's civil rights said during closing arguments at his federal trial Tuesday that his client spoke up to Officer Derek Chauvin but was ignored.

Earl Gray is the attorney for Thomas Lane, who held Floyd's feet while Chauvin knelt on the Black man's neck for 9 1/2 minutes and another officer knelt on Floyd's back. Chauvin was the senior officer on the scene.

Gray said that Lane was “very concerned” about Floyd and suggested rolling Floyd on his side so he could breathe, but was rebuffed.

Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao are charged with depriving Floyd of his right to medical care when Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck as the 46-year-old Black man pleaded for air before going silent. Kueng and Thao are also charged with failing to intervene to stop Chauvin during the May 25, 2020, killing that triggered protests worldwide and a reexamination of racism and policing.

Kueng's attorney, Tom Plunkett, hammered away at a major part of the defense contention that the officers were inadequately trained in intervention and that they deferred to Chauvin, who was the senior officer on the scene.

“I'm not trying to say he wasn't trained,” Plunkett said. “I'm saying the training was inadequate to help him see, perceive and understand what was happening here.”

Earlier, Thao's attorney, Robert Paule, said his client thought officers were doing what they believed was best for Floyd — holding him until paramedics arrived.