Prosecutors for the case against four Minneapolis police officers accused of murdering George Floyd are asking for the trial to be delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a recent motion for the trial of Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane, currently scheduled for March 8, the prosecution asked fora delay until June 7, according to the Star Tribune.
The motion argues that such a delay “appropriately balances the need to protect public health with the need to ensure that this case is resolved expeditiously.” They noted it “would substantially reduce the risks to trial participants from COVID-19, and thereby reduce the risk that this trial is delayed or disrupted by a COVID-19 outbreak among the trial participants.”
Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, while the other three are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter for their roles in the death of Floyd. All of them have since been fired.
Floyd, 46, a black man, allegedly used a counterfeit $20, and when the police attempted to apprehend him, they pinned him to the ground. Chauvin, who is white, placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes. Floyd’s death sparked nationwide protests about police brutality toward minorities and conversations about claims of systemic racism.
In addition to the motion to delay, the prosecution included an affidavit from Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a member of President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, to support their request.
Emanuel noted that “millions of Americans in the general population [are likely to] receive a COVID-19 vaccination between March 2021 and June 2021.” As a result, the doctor reasoned, “large public gatherings — including those conducted with proper social distancing and mask protocols — will be substantially safer in June 2021.”
All four former officers have posted bond and have been released from jail while awaiting the trial.
