(Saint Paul) A US jury is due to begin deliberating on Wednesday the fate of three police officers who remained passive in the 2020 murder of African-American George Floyd, following an iconic trial that opened around a month.
Posted at 6:25 p.m.
Supporting roles in a drama that shook the whole world, Tou Thao, Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane are on trial in federal court in Saint Paul, in the northern United States, for “violation of civil rights” of the black forties.
They are accused of not having brought the necessary help to George Floyd, killed during his arrest, despite the signs of medical distress.
“They had the possibility, the authority, the opportunity and the means” to intervene, prosecutor Manda Sertich insisted on Tuesday during her final indictment. “The defendants knew they were doing something wrong, but did it anyway. »
“Passersby actually acted more than the agents,” she added, referring to witnesses at the scene who tried, in vain, to intervene to stop George Floyd’s agony.
The filmed death of the African-American, asphyxiated under the knee of a fourth policeman, Derek Chauvin, sparked huge protests against racism and police violence across the United States in the summer of 2020.
“Just because something has a tragic outcome does not mean that it is a crime,” said lawyer Robert Paule, who defends Tou Thao, during his final argument.
The defense particularly insisted on the lack of experience of agents Kueng and Lang, deployed in the field for only a few days, and the ascendancy taken by Derek Chauvin in the face of the situation.
On the day of the tragedy, the two new Minneapolis police recruits were called by a merchant who suspected George Floyd of having used a counterfeit 20 dollar bill.
They had been joined by two experienced agents, Tou Thao and Derek Chauvin. The latter had knelt on the neck of George Floyd, the two new ones at his side, while Tou Thao kept passers-by at a distance.
In addition to the lack of help provided, agents Thao and Kueng are also criticized for not having intervened to dissuade Derek Chauvin from “exerting unreasonable force”.
Thomas Lane, who had suggested positioning the African-American on his flank, is not targeted by this charge.
The three police officers will also be tried by the justice of the State of Minnesota, for “complicity in murder”, from the beginning of June.
It is in this context that last June, Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.