Prosecutor: 3 officers did nothing as Chauvin ‘killed George Floyd right in front of them’

Prosecutors told a jury on Monday that three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights did nothing to prevent the murder of George Floyd.

During opening statements for the officers’ federal trial, prosecutor Samantha Trepel said, “These three CPR-trained defendants stood and knelt next to officer Chauvin as he slowly killed George Floyd right in front of them,” according to The Associated Press.

The officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, are all charged with depriving Floyd, a Black man, of his civil rights and failing to provide medical care.

Thao and Kueng face additional charges for failing to stop Derek Chauvin, the white officer convicted of murder and manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd’s neck.

Attorneys representing the Floyd family have said that footage taken by bystanders shows that the officers “directly contributed to [Floyd’s] death and failed to intervene to stop the senseless murder,” the AP reported.

During the encounter that caused Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020, Chauvin pinned him to the ground while Kueng knelt on his back, Lane held down his leg and Thao held bystanders back, the AP added.

Last week, the jury selection for the officers’ trial was completed in just one day. The jury is composed of 18 people, most of whom are white. Jury selection for Chauvin’s trial on state charges took two weeks. That group was more diverse and was made up of half white and half nonwhite members.