MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane took the witness stand in his own defense Monday in the federal civil rights trial, describing George Floyd as "handcuffed and out of control" early in the arrest that ended in his death.
Lane, the third officer to testify, spoke publicly for the first time about the May 25, 2020, incident that led to Floyd's murder in Minneapolis police custody. Lane held Floyd's legs down as officer J. Alexander Kueng restrained his mid-section and Tou Thao monitored a crowd of bystanders, while ex-officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd's neck to the ground with his knee for more than nine minutes.
Defense lawyer Earl Gray asked whether Floyd stopped resisting after four minutes under restraint. Lane responded yes and said, "I said should we roll him on the side?" But Lane said Chauvin responded, "Nope, we're good like this."
