The trial of former white police officer Derek Chauvin, charged with the murder of African-American George Floyd, will begin as scheduled on March 8, but the other three co-defendants will face trial in late August, a judge ordered in a ruling Tuesday. released.
The prosecution and defense had requested that the trial of the four be postponed, mainly because of the covid-19 pandemic.
Even in the largest courtroom of the Minneapolis District Court, “it will be impossible to comply with the rules of physical renunciation in the case of a joint trial,” Judge Peter Cahill acknowledged in his ruling.
However, Cahill ordered that the trial of Derek Chauvin, 44, who sat with his knee against George Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes on May 25, should remain on schedule.
His former colleagues Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, accused of complicity, “will be tried together from August 23,” he added.
All four, who asked to be tried separately, were released on bail.
However, the prosecution wanted a unified process, so as not to increase the trauma of family members and reduce costs for the taxpayer.
In court documents, the defendants claimed they had used reasonable violence in the face of a man who resisted. But fault lines have appeared in their bonds and some seem tempted to blame each other for the tragedy.
The image of the incident where Floyd died went viral, prompting millions of citizens to take to the streets of the country to protest the violence of the police, to demand reforms in the institution, and to call for an end to racial inequalities.