Floyd case: Lawyers of Derek Chauvin, 2 other accused ex-cops contest gag order, blame prosecution advantage
Three out of four former Minneapolis police officers who are charged in the death of George Floyd are seeking to lift a gag order in the case, with their lawyers arguing in court filings on Monday that a number of public officials have already made comments that could prejudice a potential jury pool against their clients.
Attorneys for Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao argued that a gag order should not have been issued without a public hearing. Meanwhile, Thomas Lane's attorney Earl Gray clarified he spoke to the media before the gag order was issued last week, but said nothing that would have warranted the judge's order to disallow parties and lawyers from discussing the case, the Associated Press reported.
Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was arrested on May 25, died after former Minneapolis officer Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nearly eight minutes despite repeated pleas that he couldn't breathe. Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. Meanwhile, Thao and two other officers are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter. All four former officers are facing at least 40 years in prison if convicted.
Eric Nelson, the attorney representing Chauvin, said although the court may have a "legitimate interest in reducing pretrial publicity to avoid tainting a jury pool," his client has already been called a murderer or killer in the last several weeks. Nelson added that the case has also been referred to as a "murder" by a number of public officials.
Furthermore, the lawyer argued that only prosecutors have benefited from pretrial publicity after "more than six weeks of one side of the story." Nelson wrote in the filings that "the Constitutional right to a fair and public trial by an impartial jury belongs to the Defendant - not the State," adding that it would now be difficult to garner pretrial publicity for noting Chauvin's innocence until proven guilty, or whether his actions were "justifiable in the line of duty," AP reported.
Bob Paule, Thao's attorney, argued that there was no legitimate justification for a restrictive gag order as public statements won't interfere with the "administration of justice" if everyone followed Judge Peter Cahill's earlier warning. Cahill had told all parties on June 29 to avoid talking about the "merits of the case, evidence, and guilt or innocence."
This comes just days after it emerged that Chauvin told Floyd "it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk" while kneeling on his neck as he pleaded for his life. This was revealed in the recently released transcripts from the body camera video recordings from two cops involved in the arrest and killing of Floyd, the New York Post reported.
The transcripts showed that Floyd told the officers at least 20 times that he could not breathe. After being handcuffed and placed on the ground, Floyd had said, "You’re going to kill me, man," the transcript from Lane's body camera revealed. Chauvin continued to press his knee into Floyd's neck told him, "Then stop talking, stop yelling. It takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk." The transcripts were made public on Wednesday, July 8, as part of Lane's request to have charges dropped.
Lane was the cop who had held on to Floyd's legs while making the arrest and had twice asked if officers should roll Floyd onto his side. The transcripts show that Chauvin said no. According to Lane's attorney Earl Gray, there is no probable cause to charge him. "Lane had no basis to believe Chauvin was wrong in making that decision," he wrote in the request.