What role did the 3 other cops play in George Floyd’s murder?

Judy Woodruff:

A jury was selected today in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged in the killing of George Floyd.

John Yang has more.

John Yang:

Judy, this is the next chapter in efforts to hold Minneapolis police officers accountable in the death of George Floyd.

What began as a call to a convenience store more than a year-and-a-half ago touched off protests around the world for racial justice and police accountability.

Special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro begins our coverage with a reminder of how we got to this point.

And a warning:

Some of the images in this report are disturbing.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

One down, three to go. That was the message above the Minneapolis intersection known as George Floyd Square in the weeks after Derek Chauvin's conviction last year.

It was a reference to the three other former Minneapolis police officers, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane, who were at the scene on May 25, 2020, and now face federal civil rights charges.

Almost a year after Floyd's death, Chauvin stood trial on state murder and manslaughter charges. For weeks, inside a heavily fortified Minneapolis courthouse, often emotional witnesses recounted the events of that day, including Darnella Frazier, the teenager who filmed the viral cell phone video of Floyd's death.

Darnella Frazier, Filmed George Floyd:

It's been nights I stayed up apologizing and apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more, and not physically interacting, and not saving his life.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

The jury found Chauvin guilty on all counts after just 10 hours of deliberation. He was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison.

Many in the Twin Cities rejoiced. Now the fencing is back up, this time around the federal courthouse in St. Paul. And some of those same witnesses will be called in once again to testify.

Thao, Kueng and Lane are charged with depriving George Floyd of his civil rights while acting under government authority. Chauvin has already pleaded guilty to the federal charges and awaits sentencing.

Kueng and Lane, both rookies on the force, arrived first at the convenience store where Floyd was accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. They took Floyd out of his car and attempted to arrest him. Thao, who'd been a full-time Minneapolis police officer for more than eight years, arrived with Chauvin a short time later.

And after the officers struggled with Floyd, bringing him to the ground, Chauvin knelt on his neck, Kueng near his back, and Lane held down his legs. Thao kept bystanders from intervening. On body camera footage, Lane can be heard twice asking Chauvin, the senior officer on scene:

Thomas Lane, Minneapolis Police Department:

Should we roll him on his side?

Derek Chauvin, Convicted Felon:

NO, he's staying put where we got him.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

At one point, Lane and Kueng appear to discuss whether Floyd had a pulse.

Thomas Lane:

You got one?

Man:

Is he breathing right now? Check his pulse. Check his pulse. Check his pulse.

(CROSSTALK)

J. Alexander Kueng, Minneapolis Police Department:

I can't find one.

Fred de Sam Lazaro:

The trial will not be broadcast publicly. The judge in the case expressed concern about the proceedings — quote — "getting out of proportion." He urged lawyers to limit the number of witnesses and move quickly to avoid delays caused by COVID.

Thao, Kueng and Lane still face a state trial for aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. It's now been delayed twice, awaiting the conclusion of the federal case.

For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Fred de Sam Lazaro in St. Paul, Minnesota.

John Yang:

The charges and issues in this federal trial are different from those in the earlier state trial that ended in the conviction of Derek Chauvin.

Angi Porter is a research fellow and adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Thanks so much for being with us.

Help us understand these federal charges. Depriving George Floyd of his civil right, what does that mean?

Angi Porter, Georgetown University Law Center:

Absolutely. Thanks, John.

I want to emphasize that, in federal court, we're really thinking primarily about a person's constitutional rights. And, in this case, we're thinking about George Floyd's right to reasonable seizure, i.e., a reasonable arrest, and also his right to due process, his right to not be deprived of his liberty without getting medical attention for a serious medical need.

So those are the two areas that are infused in the charges in the federal case.

John Yang:

In the state case, you were talking about what Derek Chauvin did. What are the challenges in proving that the federal prosecutor is going to have in proving this federal charge?

Angi Porter:

You know, I think the challenges will really be to focus the jury in on the issues, because laypeople come to these cases thinking about the overall incident.

And so the prosecutors are really going to want to narrow their focus on what each of these defendants did and on their role. So, even though Chauvin is out there, they have a role vis-a-vis Chauvin. They have a role in processing what he was doing and thinking about how they should behave under law to prevent George Floyd's deprivation of rights.

John Yang:

So could they be looking at things they didn't do?

Angi Porter:

Absolutely. Absolutely.

The first charge actually is failure to intervene with the deprivation of rights. So, by failing to tell Chauvin or to insist that Chauvin get up off of George Floyd's neck and back, they are violating George Floyd's constitutional rights. So, it's absolutely about the omission there and not the action.

John Yang:

One juror was excused after saying he was worried about the influence of race in this case, and he couldn't be impartial.

What role does race play in the prosecution of these charges?

Angi Porter:

Yes, I was actually very disappointed in the statements of the judge in response to that juror who raised concerns about race, because, as we all know, race is absolutely at the heart of the underlying incident that gave rise to this trial.

So,even while race is not relevant to the charges, the judge responded by saying race in no way, shape, or form has a part in this case. You know, that, to me, is a delusion. That is aspirational, perhaps, for him to say that, but it's not the truth.

And I think there should be an acknowledgment that this case was the springboard for the racial reckoning, as people called it, after George Floyd's death. Race is always a factor, and it's absolutely going to play a role in the minds of these jurors as they're looking at these three police officers.

And, as you mentioned, John, we're pulling from the whole state for this jury. We're not just pulling from Hennepin County. And so the demographics are going to look different. They're going to look more white. It's going to be more homogeneous in terms of race.

That's definitely going to be important. And I think by understating the role of race in this case and in our reality, as a community, as a state, as a country, I think the judge really did a disservice here. And it was not reflective of what a lot of people are thinking in terms of this death and the actions surrounding it and the inactions surrounding it.

John Yang:

Derek Chauvin — as Fred said in the piece, Derek Chauvin pleaded guilty on these federal charges, of course, convicted in the state trial.

To what extent do you think his presence is still going to be felt in the courtroom? Is he going to be looming over this case?

Angi Porter:

Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

As we discussed before, these charges are related to whether these officers intervened and whether they followed the lead of Derek Chauvin. They are certainly going to use him as part of their argument, saying, oh, he was the field training officer. He was more senior to us. We were following his lead. They will try to disavow themselves from Derek Chauvin.

Note, however, Derek Chauvin took that plea. And, as part of his plea, he said he didn't force these other three to do anything or to not do anything. And so they're going to have to contend with that.

John Yang:

Angi Porter of the Georgetown University Law Center, thank you very much.

Angi Porter:

Thanks so much for having me.