Minnesota prosecutors petitioned an appeals court judge Thursday to add an additional charge to the three former Minneapolis police officers charged following the death of George Floyd.
Neal Katyal, a prosecutor from Attorney General Keith Ellison‘s office, asked the legal body to undo a previous ruling that blocked an attempt to include third-degree aiding and abetting murder to the list of charges faced by Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao.
All three were previously jailed on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter after the arrest of Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
Katyal cited a previous ruling prior to the Chauvin trial in which Hennepin County District Court Judge Peter Cahill was found to have erred when he initially declined to include third-degree murder in the officer’s list of offenses. Cahill tacked on the charge about a month prior to the trial.
JUDGE POSTPONES TRIAL OF THREE FORMER OFFICERS CHARGED IN GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH TO 2022
“We think that the Chauvin case should settle the matter here, as the district court’s rationale was the same for the three defendants before you as it was for Mr. Chauvin,” Katyal said. “It would be a very odd result if three defendants get to hear their alternative argument now, but one defendant didn’t and had to go back to the district court for it.”
The defense team for the three ex-officers insisted the move was inappropriate, as a defendant could be guilty of third-degree abetting even if the act was unintentional.
A judge will return a verdict on the matter within 90 days.
On May 13, Cahill postponed the trial of three former officers to March 8, 2022, after it was initially scheduled for August 2021. Defense attorneys applauded the motion, though the prosecution was disgruntled by it.
The legal teams for the defendants at the time called for sanctions against the prosecution following a New York Times report that suggested Chauvin had pleaded guilty over a year ago in a deal that was rejected by former Attorney General William Barr. One or more individuals within the prosecutor’s office leaked the information to the press and compromised the integrity of the trial, the lawyers maintained.
Thao’s attorney, Bob Paule, demanded the state should be held accountable for “its role — directly or indirectly — in the leaking of highly prejudicial information related to potential plea agreements of co-defendants.” Cahill agreed to hold a hearing in August on the matter.
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Ellison previously called Paule’s assertion “completely false and an outlandish attempt to disparage the prosecution.”
Floyd was killed May 25, 2020, after Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes.
The three other officers, some of whom were being trained by Chauvin at the time, were arrested shortly after. Lane was said to have held Floyd’s legs, Kueng allegedly held down his back, and Thao appeared on video warding off bystanders.
