A Hennepin County district judge denied a prosecution request for a 48-hour seal on filings related to the case of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who died on May 25 after a police officer restrained him using his knee for nearly nine minutes.
Judge Peter Cahill, who is overseeing the prosecution of four ex-officers involved in the incident, said he did not want to build any additional time lag on releasing the filings in the Floyd case after a defense attorney moved to file a video and a transcript from a 2019 arrest of Floyd at an emergency hearing on Thursday, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Cahill said the video “shows what basically everybody already knows: George Floyd was arrested on a previous occasion.” Cahill also added he would not allow any future filings of audio, video, or photos.
The document and video, which were submitted by attorney Earl Gray, essentially highlighted similarities in Floyd’s behavior in 2019 to what was seen in the widely distributed video of his fatal encounter with police earlier in the year.
While the judge said he believed efforts to distribute the video were part of a “good-faith effort” on behalf of Gray, the 2019 arrest would be potentially helpful to the prosecution’s case.
The document and video became publicly available immediately after the hearing, but it’s unclear if they will be shown to the jury during the trial. The ruling on whether it will be shown will occur closer to the trial on March 8.
According to Gray’s memo, he wants to show the video at the trial because he believes prosecutors have presented a “false narrative” by portraying Floyd as a “law-abiding citizen that was afraid for his life.”
Floyd’s death resulted in worldwide protests over police brutality and racial injustice. Four former officers of the Minneapolis Police Department are facing charges.
Gray represents Thomas Lane, who is charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter, along with J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao. Derek Chauvin is charged with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
