Closing arguments start for police charged in Floyd killing

ST. PAUL, Minnesota－Closing arguments began on Tuesday in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd's civil rights.

Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane are charged with depriving Floyd of his right to medical care as Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for 9.5 minutes. Lane held the 46-year-old black man's feet, while Kueng knelt on his back and Thao held back bystanders.

Kueng and Thao are also charged with failing to intervene to stop Chauvin during the May 2020 killing that triggered protests worldwide and a reexamination of racism and policing.

Chauvin pleaded guilty in the federal case in December, months after he was convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges.

During her closing argument, prosecutor Manda Sertich pointed to the 2.5 "precious minutes" after Floyd became unresponsive and before paramedics got there. "They chose to do nothing, and their choice resulted in Mr Floyd's death," she said.

The closings in the other three former officers' trial in St. Paul came after about a month of testimony. The jury that appears mostly white was likely to get the case late on Tuesday.

On Monday, Lane was the final officer to present his defense, testifying that he did not realize how dire Floyd's condition was while he was pinned down until paramedics turned him over.

Jurors were expected to begin deliberations on Wednesday, after the judge gives them instructions.

At the start of the trial, District Judge Paul Magnuson selected 18 jurors, including six alternates. Fourteen remain: 12 who will deliberate and two alternates. A jury that appears to be all white will consider the case after a juror who appeared to be of Asian descent was dismissed on Tuesday morning without explanation. The court did not release demographic information, other than the county of residence of each juror.

Lane, Kueng and Thao also face a separate trial in June on state charges alleging that they aided and abetted murder and manslaughter.

The trial was wrapping up just as another major civil rights trial in Georgia resulted in the conviction of three white men on hate crime charges in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old black man who was chased and shot in February 2020.

Agencies Via Xinhua