MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A judge on Wednesday fired two jurors who sat in trial of a former Minneapolis police officer charged with the death of George Floyd over concerns they had been tainted by the city’s announcement of a $ settlement. 27 million with Floyd’s family.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill recalled seven jurors sitting before the settlement was announced last week, at the request of former district attorney Derek Chauvin Eric Nelson. Cahill asked everyone what they knew about the settlement and whether it would affect their ability to serve.
The dismissal of just two jurors suggested that the settlement’s impact on the jury pool was less than feared, reducing the likelihood that Cahill would grant a defense to delay the trial. The judge has set March 29 to open rulings if jury selection is complete by then.
Cahill was careful to ask jurors whether they had heard of the settlement without providing details, including whether they had been exposed to the “ extensive media coverage of developments in a civil suit between the city of Minneapolis and George Floyd’s family. ”
The first juror fired, a white man in his 30s, said he had heard of the settlement and thought it “would be difficult to be impartial.”
“That sticker price clearly shocked me,” said the second fired jury member. The Spanish man in his twenties said he thought he could put the news aside, but wasn’t sure.
Cahill retained five other jurors, including a black man in his 30s who said he heard about the settlement on the radio Friday night, but was able to decide the case based on the evidence presented in court.“It didn’t bother me at all because I don’t know the details,” he said.
Nelson called the timing of the announcement in the middle of the jury selection “Very disturbing” and “not fair”.
On Wednesday, two additional jury members were chosen, bringing the total back to nine. There are five men and four women. Five are white, one is multiracial, and three are black, and their ages range from 20 to 50. Fourteen judges, including two alternates, are necessary.
The latest judges are a black man in his 40s who said he works in management and lived in the Twin Cities area for about two decades after emigrating to America, and a white woman in her 40s who works as a consultant who helps companies to keep working. transitions.
The man said he had a neutral view of Chauvin and could begin with a presumption of innocence. He said he trusts the police, but that it would be fair for a jury to judge the officer’s actions.
The woman said she agreed that the police do not always treat white and black people equally, but that she has quite a strong faith in the police in her community. She said it is important for people to cooperate with the police.
“I’ve probably learned or learned along the way that you respect the police and do what they ask,” she said.
Several were excused, including a man whose race had not been disclosed who said he was more likely to believe a cop’s version of events than a civilian’s, and a black man who had a negative opinion of the Minneapolis police.
He said that Floyd was an example of another black man who was “murdered” or “murdered” by the police, and that he had seen Minneapolis police driving through the area near Floyd’s arrest and residents thwarting after someone had been shot or imprisoned.
Another man who said he was white was fired after saying that he had seen video of the interaction between Floyd and Chauvin several times and that it would be difficult for him to believe that Chauvin was innocent.
Chauvin is charged with murder and manslaughter in the May 25 death of Floyd, a black man who was pronounced dead after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against his neck for about nine minutes.Floyd’s death, captured on video from bystanders, sparked weeks of sometimes violent protests across the country and sparked a national bill on racial justice.
The judge said he will rule on Friday on Nelson’s request to postpone or reschedule the trial and another to admit evidence of Floyd’s 2019 arrest in Minneapolis.
Three other former officers face an August trial in Floyd’s death on charges of complicity in murder and manslaughter.
The judge opened the court on Wednesday by threatening removal a media pool and the closure of a media center. A visibly angry Cahill described a pool report showing a reporter’s attempts to read notepads at the defense and prosecution tables and described security in the court where the trial is taking place.
Cahill said any media that posted security details should remove them or they risk being kicked out of the media center. He did not mention reporters or media organizations.
Find AP’s full coverage of George Floyd’s death: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
This story has been corrected to show that the judge will rule on admitting a previous arrest of Floyd on Friday, not Thursday.