State trial for former officers charged in George Floyd’s death moved to next year

The trio of former Minneapolis police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd have had their case pushed back from August until next March.

According to reports, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill ruled on Thursday morning that Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Kueng would have their trial start on March 8, so that they can first stand trial for federal charges that were recently brought against them, along with former officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes last May, killing him.

Chauvin last month was convicted on three criminal counts — second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

In the state trial, Thao, Lane and Kueng face charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.

The federal indictment, which was unsealed last week, accuses all four former officers of violating Floyd’s civil rights.

Earlier in the week, Cahill concluded that there were several aggravating factors in Chauvin’s killing of Floyd, which have a strong possibility of lengthening his sentence.

The maximum sentence Chauvin could face is 40 years, though even with the aggravating factors, his prison term will most likely not come close to that.

He will be sentenced June 25.

Cahill’s decision is a win for state prosecutors, led by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D), who filed a motion seeking an upward departure in Chauvin’s sentencing on April 30. 

The prosecution argued five aggravating factors in their filing; Cahill agreed with four of them.