A Minneapolis judge on Monday set the trial date for four ex-police officers charged in the murder of African American George Floyd for March 8 next year, making clear he did not want the sensitive case to become a media circus with the presidential election looming.
As the protests over racial injustice continued to reverberate nationwide, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill warned the four, their attorneys and state officials not to play the sensitive case through the news, even as one lawyer said US President Donald Trump had already weighed in.
“I would like to see pre-trial publicity not include statements from family from either side, police or elected officials” about guilt or innocence, or the merits of the case, he told a court.
Photo: AP
Derek Chauvin, the white officer filmed on May 25 pressing his knee into the handcuffed 46-year-old’s neck for nearly eight minutes until he became unresponsive, faces second and third-degree murder charges.
Three others who were with Chauvin, 44, when they detained Floyd are charged with aiding and abetting a murder.
None of the four formally entered pleas.
Robert Paule, defending Tou Thao, one of the three charged with abetting the killing, said his client would plead not guilty, adding that he adhered to police guidelines on use of force.
However, Paule also voiced concerns over prejudicial comments and actions by state and national officials that could impact the trial.
“In this case, we have comments made, I believe, by President Trump,” as well as Minnesota’s governor, the mayor of Minneapolis, the Minnesota attorney general and others, Paule said.
He added that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, whose office is leading the prosecution, and US Attorney Erica MacDonald met Floyd’s family in Houston, adding that the trip was leaked to the press.
Paule said more publicity could lead to a push for a change of venue.
Eric Nelson, the lawyer for Chauvin, said he might demand the judge legally order people involved to remain silent.
“If such public statements continue, I’ll be seeking a gag order,” Nelson said.
Chauvin, whose bail has been set at US$1 million, appeared via video from the Oak Park Heights prison wearing an orange jumpsuit and a face mask.
The other defendants — Thao, Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — appeared in person.
The four, who were fired from the Minneapolis police force one day after Floyd’s death, each face up to 40 years behind bars.
Floyd was detained for the minor charge of attempting to use a counterfeit US$20 bill, and while in handcuffs, two of the officers held him down on the street while Chauvin pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck and the fourth officer stood watch.
The judge set the next procedural hearing for September, with all parties needing to assemble a massive amount of evidence.
A Zurich city councilor has apologized and reportedly sought police protection against threats after she fired a sport pistol at an auction poster of a 14th-century Madonna and child painting, and posted images of their bullet-ridden faces on social media. Green-Liberal party official Sanija Ameti, 32, put the images on Instagram over the weekend before quickly pulling them down. She later wrote on social media that she had been practicing shots from about 10m and only found the poster as “big enough” for a suitable target. “I apologize to the people who were hurt by my post. I deleted it immediately when I
The governor of Ohio is to send law enforcement and millions of dollars in healthcare resources to the city of Springfield as it faces a surge in temporary Haitian migrants. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Tuesday said that he does not oppose the Temporary Protected Status program under which about 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of about 59,000 people since 2020, but said the federal government must do more to help affected communities. On Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost directed his office to research legal avenues — including filing a lawsuit — to stop the federal government from sending
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is to visit Russia next month for a summit of the BRICS bloc of developing economies, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Thursday, a move that comes as Moscow and Beijing seek to counter the West’s global influence. Xi’s visit to Russia would be his second since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. China claims to take a neutral position in the conflict, but it has backed the Kremlin’s contentions that Russia’s action was provoked by the West, and it continues to supply key components needed by Moscow for
Japan scrambled fighter jets after Russian aircraft flew around the archipelago for the first time in five years, Tokyo said yesterday. From Thursday morning to afternoon, the Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea toward the southern Okinawa region, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said in a statement. They then traveled north over the Pacific Ocean and finished their journey off the northern island of Hokkaido, it added. The planes did not enter Japanese airspace, but flew over an area subject to a territorial dispute between Japan and Russia, a ministry official said. “In response, we mobilized Air Self-Defense
RSS