MINNEAPOLIS — Opening statements are underway in the federal trial in St. Paul of the three fired Minneapolis police officers who are accused of depriving George Floyd of his constitutional rights by failing to intervene when fellow officer Derek Chauvin killed Floyd in May 2020.
Attorneys for J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao will use their time to outline their respective cases, and the prosecution will do the same before the 12 jurors and six alternates who were chosen last week to be on the panel.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Trepel was first to address the jurors, saying that when police officers take a person into their custody, those officers are responsible for ensuring that person's safety.
