MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys on both sides laid out opening arguments Monday morning in the civil rights case of three former Minneapolis officers, forecasting a trial that will hinge on what the men thought and saw as Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.
In St. Paul's federal courthouse, Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha Trepel described how Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng ignored signs of grave distress in the man who they'd taken into custody. They in turn neglected their training and legal obligation to render medical aid as the window to save Floyd's life "slammed shut."
"Here, on May 25, Memorial Day 2020, for second after second, minute after minute, these three CPR-trained defendants stood or knelt next to officer Chauvin as he slowly killed George Floyd right in front of them," said Trepel.
