Matilda Omonaiye/
Four former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights were arraigned in federal court today at a hearing that also addressed some pretrial motions.
A federal grand jury indicted Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao in May for allegedly depriving Floyd of his rights while acting under government authority on May 25, 2020, as Floyd, 46, was held face-down, handcuffed and not resisting in a restraint that was captured on bystander video. His death led to worldwide protests and calls for change in policing.
The parties appeared at today’s hearing via videoconference. Chauvin, who is serving a 22 and a half years sentence for the murder of Floyd, appeared from a room at a Minnesota maximum security prison.
The four former police officers pleaded not guilty to charges they violated the civil rights of Floyd.
The civil rights charges stem from Floyd’s death after police detained him on suspicion that he had tried to pass a $20 counterfeit bill at a nearby convenience store.
Bystanders captured cellphone videos of Chauvin restraining Floyd, who gasped that he could not breathe. The other three officers assisted in the arrest or kept bystanders from intervening to help Floyd.
During Floyd’s arrest, he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe as Chauvin pinned him to the ground. Kueng and Lane helped restrain Floyd; Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, and Lane held Floyd’s legs, according to evidence in state court. Thao held back bystanders and kept them from intervening during the nine and a half minutes restraint.
Chauvin was convicted of manslaughter and murder earlier this year, while the other three former officers face trials next March on charges of aiding and abetting.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Tony Leung is deciding a number of legal questions in the civil rights case, including requests by Thao, Kueng and Lane to separate their trials from Chauvin’s, a motion that prosecutors oppose.
The federal indictment alleges Chauvin violated Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure and unreasonable force by a police officer. Thao and Kueng are charged with violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure by not intervening to stop Chauvin as he knelt on Floyd’s neck. All four officers are also charged with depriving Floyd of his rights when they failed to provide him with medical care.
The four officers were also charged in state court, where Chauvin’s trial was eventually separated from the others due to space restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chauvin was convicted in April of murder and manslaughter and was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. The other three former officers face state trial next March on aiding and abetting counts.
Chauvin is also charged in a separate federal indictment alleging he violated the civil rights of a 14-year-old boy in 2017.
The death of Floyd reverberated throughout the U.S. and the world, with street protesters calling for police reforms and the end of police abuse of minorities in the weeks that followed.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government is investigating policing practices in Minneapolis. The investigation known as a “pattern or practice” — examining whether there is a pattern or practice of unconstitutional or unlawful policing — includes a sweeping review of the entire police department. It may result in major changes to policing in the Minnesota city.
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