Two former Minneapolis police officers charged in the George Floyd murder trial took the witness stand on Wednesday to challenge prosecutors’ claim that they violated the principles of their police training and should have intervened to restrain the officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on the black man’s neck.
J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao are charged, along with Thomas Lane, with violating the constitutional rights of George Floyd. Mr Kueng knelt on Mr Floyd’s back, Mr Lane held his legs and Mr Thao held back passers-by while the black man, 46, was handcuffed, face down in the street.
Mr. Thao took the floor for a second day. According to his testimony, he was aware that George Floyd’s pleas that he could not breathe were getting weaker and weaker, but he still did not understand that Mr. Floyd was in danger, even as bystanders grew increasingly weak. more restless.
In his cross-examination led by prosecutor LeeAnn Bell, Mr. Thao said that he did not convey any concerns of bystanders about Mr. Floyd’s well-being to other officers and that he did not check. his pulse after passers-by asked him. He said he was counting on the three other officers at the scene to attend to Mr. Floyd’s medical needs while he controlled crowds and traffic, and that he did not believe Mr. Chauvin’s knee was on Mr. Floyd’s neck.
J. Alexander Kueng began his testimony by outlining the principles of his police training, including how to secure a scene and the need to check the pulse on someone’s neck in distress.
Thomas Lane is also expected to testify.
MM. Thao, Kueng and Lane are accused of depriving George Floyd of medical care. MM. Kueng and Thao are also accused of failing to intervene during the May 2020 killing, which sparked protests around the world and a re-examination of racism and the police. According to the charges, the actions of the officers resulted in the death of Mr. Floyd.
Prosecutors argue officers should have stepped in to stop Derek Chauvin and deviated from their training by not rolling Mr Floyd’s body onto his side so he could breathe or performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him. ) as soon as he stopped breathing and they didn’t feel a pulse.
Defense attorneys argue that the Minneapolis Police Department provided inadequate training and taught cadets to obey their superiors. Mr Chauvin, who was convicted of murder and manslaughter last year, was the highest-ranking police officer at the scene.
On Wednesday, Prosecutor Bell asked Mr. Thao what steps the officers had taken to help Mr. Floyd. He replied that they were waiting for the paramedics. She also asked him if he had told Mr. Chauvin to clear Mr. Floyd’s neck.
“I didn’t,” Thao replied, adding later, “I think I trusted a 19-year-old veteran to figure it out. »
When Mme Bell asked Mr. Thao if he had told his colleagues about his concerns about bystanders, he replied, “No”.
Mr. Thao’s lawyer, Robert Paule, questioned why the officers thought it was important to keep Mr. Floyd restrained, and Mr. Thao said they believed George Floyd was in a state of “excited delirium — a contested state in which someone would have extraordinary strength — and needed ambulance medical care, “which we weren’t able to provide.”
Mr. Paule asked if they intended to harm Mr. Floyd.
“Oh no,” replied Mr. Thao.
Mr Thao told his lawyer he understood Mr Floyd’s condition to be critical when firefighters were asked to help paramedics, who had taken him to another location.
He also agreed with the prosecutor that when he requested more urgent paramedic intervention, he knew it was “a matter of life or death”. Mme Bell asked if he had radioed back to say he suspected excited delirium or that Floyd was not speaking or was unconscious, and Mr. Thao replied no.
MM. Lane, Kueng and Thao will also face a separate trial in June for aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. All three were released on bail shortly after being charged, in June 2020.
Mr. Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in state court last year and pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge. He is in prison.