Several Key Decisions In The George Floyd Case Could Be Made Thursday
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Several key decisions in the George Floyd case could be made Thursday, including the possible inclusion of new evidence.
At a court hearing in Hennepin County, an attorney for one of the four former Minneapolis police officers charged in Floyd's death will ask for new evidence to be added to the case.
The evidence is body camera footage from a traffic stop in 2019. In the footage, George Floyd allegedly has a bag of pills and the interactions between him and the officers are similar to ones recorded in the video of his fatal arrest. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill will decide if the footage is relevant to the current case.
Additionally, Cahill hopes to have decisions made on several key motions in the case, including whether or not the jury should be anonymous, whether or not the trial should happen in Hennepin County, and whether the officers involved should have separate trials.
RELATED: Former MPD Officer Derek Chauvin, Charged In George Floyd's Death, Released From Custody
The defense teams for the four ex-officers -- Derek Chavin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane -- want to keep the jury anonymous and sequestered for the integrity of the trial. Prosecutors say that wouldn't be transparent enough.
As for location, the defense teams want to move the trial out of Hennepin County due to publicity concerns. But first and at the judge's request, they will attempt to find a suitable jury in Hennepin County before they consider changing locations.
Cahill also hopes to come to a decision Thursday on the question of whether there should be one trial or four separate trials, which would bring separate verdicts.
Currently, all four former officers charged involved in George Floyd's death are out on bail. They are currently slated to stand trial in March.
Chauvin, who was recorded in a now-viral video kneeling on Floyd's neck for several minutes, is facing charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. The other three ex-officers are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
