Former prosecutor: Minimizing George Floyd’s death is ‘poor legal strategy’

The civil rights trial for the three former officers charged in the killing of George Floyd back in 2020 will be ongoing for the next few weeks.

News 12 Staff

Jan 25, 2022, 5:59 PM

Updated 993 days ago

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The civil rights trial for the three former officers charged in the killing of George Floyd back in 2020 will be ongoing for the next few weeks.
Thomas Lane, Alex Kueng, and Tou Thao were all charged with failing to administer first aid to George Floyd. Keung and Lane were also charged with failing to intervene in former officer Derek Chauvin's unreasonable use of force.
All three ex-officers pleaded not guilty. Their main defense so far has been that they tried to intervene but could not and instead listened to their senior officer.
On Monday, the defense argued that Floyd's death was "a tragedy but not a crime."
"It's poor legal strategy to try to minimize what happened, but he's an attorney, and he's going to throw everything up on the wall to see what sticks in order to defend his client," says former prosecutor Marie Pereira.
The jury selection created frustration outside the courtroom after it was revealed that none of the jurors were Black.
Within the next few months, the three ex-officers will be tried in state court where they are charged with aiding and abetting Derek Chauvin to commit the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin was convicted of Floyd's murder and is currently serving a 22 1/2 years in prison sentence. He entered a guilty plea last month on charges of violating Floyd's civil rights, which could add another 25 years to his sentence.