Three officers ‘watched as George Floyd died a slow and agonising death’, says prosecutor in opening statement

Opening statements began on Monday in the federal trial of Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng

Three former police officers “watched as George Floyd died a slow and agonising death” and failed to intervene as Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck “for nine minutes and 29 seconds”, a court in Minnesota heard on Monday.

Prosecutor Samantha Trepel began opening statements on Monday morning in the federal trial of Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng on charges of violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights during his fatal arrest on Memorial Day 2020.

Ms Trepel told jurors that the three officers failed in a “fundamental element of policing” to care for the Black man while he was in their custody and “chose not to act” to stop fellow officer Chauvin murdering him.

“These three CPR-trained defendants stood or knelt next to Officer Chauvin as he slowly killed George Floyd right in front of them,” the prosecutor said, according to Fox9 reporter Rob Olson.

The three officers were each trained to administer medical care but “didn’t lift a finger” to try to save Mr Floyd’s life, she said.

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“You will see that when the ambulance arrived, it was the paramedics – and not these officers – who told Mr Chauvin he needed to get up,” said the prosecutor.

“In your custody is in your care. That is a fundamental element of policing,” she repeated during the opening statement.

The prosecutor briefly outlined the government’s case against each of the three officers.

She said that Mr Thao, a veteran of the force, believed Mr Floyd was under the influence of drugs but still failed to provide medical care to him.

She pointed to his comments to bystanders during the deadly arrest that: “This is why you don’t do drugs.”

Mr Kueng was more concerned about a piece of gravel stuck in the police squad car’s tyre than in Mr Floyd’s safety, the prosecutor said of the second defendant.

When the officer tried to find Mr Floyd’s pulse and could not, he still failed to provide him with care, she said, reported WCCO.

And while Mr Lane asked twice whether they should move Mr Floyd into a different position, after being told no he chose to do nothing, said Ms Trepel.

She added: “We will ask you to hold these men accountable for choosing to do nothing.”

Mr Floyd died when Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes during an arrest over a suspected $20 counterfeit bill in Minneapolis on 25 May 2020, as he begged for air saying “I can’t breathe”.

Mr Kueng knelt on his back, Mr Lane held down his legs and Mr Thao held back bystanders, stopping them from intervening.

All three former officers are charged with one count of depriving Mr Floyd of his civil rights by failing to provide him with medical care and showing a “deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs”.

Mr Thao and Mr Kueng are also charged with one count of depriving Mr Floyd of his civil rights by failing to intervene to stop Chauvin’s unreasonable use of force.

Both counts allege the officers’ actions resulted in Mr Floyd’s death.

They have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao left to right in booking photos (Hennepin County Sheriff)

The charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison or the death penalty although it is unlikely they will receive such severe penalties if convicted.

An almost all-white jury will deliberate on the racially-charged case, after a panel of 18 - including 12 jurors and six alternates - was selected on Thursday, made up of 16 white people and two people of Asian descent.

Their fellow officer Chauvin was to stand trial with the trio in the federal trial but reached a plea agreement with prosecutors in December.

Under the deal, Chauvin must serve a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 25 years in prison and will be moved to a federal prison.

The deal came after Chauvin was convicted of Mr Floyd’s murder at his state trial in April and was sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in state prison.

Mr Lane, Mr Thao and Mr Kueng are also due to stand trial on state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in June.

Mr Floyd’s death led to protests across the globe calling for racial justice and an end to systemic racism.

US District Judge Paul Magnuson, who is overseeing the federal trial, told the court on Thursday that race is not a factor in the government’s case against the three officers.

“There is absolutely nothing about the subject of religion, race or ethnicity that’s involved in this case,” he said.