MINNEAPOLIS — Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill moved the trial date from January to Oct. 24 for two former Minneapolis police officers accused of aiding and abetting the murder of George Floyd.
Cahill made the decision in a brief remote hearing with lawyers for J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao. The trial initially was to start in June, but Cahill recently pushed that back to Jan. 5 citing a preponderance of pretrial publicity that was prejudicial to the defendants.
Kueng's attorney Thomas Plunkett, however, asked Cahill to reconsider the date because of a personal commitment in January. Thao's attorney Bob Paule said in court he was fine with the October date. In response, however, prosecutors filed a motion, seeking to move the trial to August.
In the 12-minute court session, Cahill apologized to Plunkett and noted that he had forgotten the defense attorney had previously told him he had a personal commitment "etched in stone" in January and that he'd rather give up his law license than miss it.
In arguing for the August date, assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank talked about the grief of Floyd's family and their need for a speedy trial. The trial "hangs over their head like a dark cloud and really prevents them from grieving and moving on," Frank said.
He continued, saying it was important to remember what the family continues to go through with the video of Floyd's murder. "They've had to watch it time and time again in the media and through the trial process," Frank said.
Frank said the video showed how Floyd was initially compliant, sitting on the sidewalk outside Dragon Wok at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue and only became agitated when the officers tried to "jam" him into a squad car.
But Cahill cut him off, telling Frank, "You're off topic."
The judge then agreed to move the trial to the late October date, saying he was still weighing the need for publicity from the federal trial and former officer Thomas Lane's May guilty plea to aiding and abetting manslaughter to die down.
Floyd died May 25, 2020, while under the knee of Thao's partner that night, Derek Chauvin.
Thao, Kueng and Lane were convicted in federal court in February of violating Floyd's civil rights for their roles in his death. They have yet to be sentenced for the convictions.
In state court, Kueng and Thao are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death. Lane accepted a plea deal last month, avoiding a state trial. He agreed to a sentence of three years.
Chauvin pleaded guilty in federal court and awaits sentencing for that conviction. He was tried and convicted of murder in state court last year and is currently serving 221/2 years in prison.
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