Cops at George Floyd murder scene say Derek Chauvin called 'all the shots' as senior
Former cop Derek Chauvin took the lead in killing George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, as he knelt on Floyd's neck and slowly killed him, depriving him of all his civil rights, the attorney of another convicted officer at the scene claimed.
George Floyd's inhumane murder at the age of 46, attracted global attention and inspired many protests against police brutality against Blacks and People of Color. It resulted in growing calls for measures to ensure race equality in the United States and beyond, which had a massive impact on the Black Lives Matter movement.
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The other three officers at the scene, J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao, will now be up for trial too, after Chauvin's conviction in June 2021. Their attorneys had a lot to say about their relative innocence.
Tom Plunkett, attorney for Kueng, the youngest officer in the trio, highlighted the rookie status of his client. According to Plunkett, Kueng deferred to Chauvin as his senior, noting that Chauvin was Kueng’s field training officer, and had “considerable sway” over his future. Plunkett added, "You’ll see and hear officer Chauvin call all of the shots.” He criticised the Minneapolis Police Department for not training their officers properly on when to intervene and stop a senior colleague.
Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, said Lane was at Floyd’s legs and could not see Chauvin’s knee on Floyd’s neck. Lane at one point suggested that they use a restraint called the hobble on Floyd, which would have meant Floyd would have been on his side “and no doubt he’d be alive today," Gray said. But he said Chauvin said no. Lane also suggested twice that they roll Floyd over, but was rebuffed, Gray said. Lane also later got into the ambulance and helped perform chest compressions on Floyd. "Mr. Lane, from the beginning of the time that he came into contact with George Floyd until the time he walked out of that ambulance, he was totally concerned and did everything he could possibly do to help George Floyd,” Gray said.
But, prosecutor Samantha Trepel rebuffed their arguments, claiming that the other three officers chose to not protect Floyd and told the jurors, "We will ask you to hold these men accountable for not choosing to do nothing and watch a man die."
The three are now charged with deprivation of George Floyd's civil rights, aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter, and they have another set of trials set to begin in June. Thomas Lane plans to take the stand during the trial, but it remains unclear whether Thao and Kueng will testify or not.
Chauvin pleaded guilty in December, 2021, and was convicted of charges of murder and manslaughter. He is serving a 22-and-a-half year sentence. The attorney representing George Floyd's family stated that the convict's guilty plea was "a victory for the interest of justice" in many ways, but they could never forget its cost. "George Floyd was a son, a brother, and a father—a father who, as (daughter) Gianna Floyd put it, 'changed the world.' We all play a role in keeping his legacy alive," according to last month's statement.