Trial delayed for two Minneapolis officers facing state charges in death of George Floyd

The state trial of two former Minneapolis police officers over the death of George Floyd has now been delayed until January.

Tou Thao and J Alexander Kueng were due to stand trial on Monday 13 June on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the Memorial Day 2020 murder of the Black 46-year-old which sparked racial justice protests across the globe.

Just one week before the start date, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill postponed the trial until 5 January 2023, citing efforts to ensure the suspects receive a fair trial.

The judge, who also presided over the murder trial of their fellow officer Derek Chauvin,

The delay comes just weeks after their fellow disgraced former officer Thomas Lane pleaded guilty to the aiding and abetting charges.

The three former officers had been due to stand trial together on the charges prior to Lane changing his plea on 18 May.

All three are already behind bars after they were found guilty in February at their federal trial of depriving Floyd’s civil rights during his deadly arrest.

Mr Floyd was murdered during a deadly arrest over a counterfeit $20 bill in Minneapolis back on Memorial Day 2020.

Footage of his death showed how white officer Chauvin knelt on the Black man’s neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds.

Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old father, begged for air dozens of times, saying: “I can’t breathe.”

Mr Thao, a veteran officer of eight years, held back bystanders and stopped them from intervening during the fatal encounter.

Mr Kueng pinned Mr Floyd down on his back and Mr Lane held down his legs.

Bystanders who had gathered on the scene shouted at the officers to stop and urged them to administer medical care but they were ignored.

Video of the fatal encounter sent shockwaves across the globe and led to calls for racial justice and an end to police brutality against Black people.

Chauvin, who was tried separately from the other three, was convicted of second-degree murder and manslaughter at his April 2021 state trial.

He was sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison.

Chauvin was due to stand trial with the three other officers on federal charges but avoided trial by reaching a plea deal with federal prosecutors in December.

Under the terms of the deal, he pleaded guilty to civil rights charges in exchange for being moved to federal prison.