This will undoubtedly be the trial of the year. The one who will have to do justice to George Floyd, as the whole world has been saying since May 25th. A Minneapolis judge hoped on Monday to be able to organize the trial of the police officers involved in the murder of George Floyd on March 8, but threatened to disorient him if the parties continued to speak in the media on this file which revolted the America.
Dressed in an orange prisoner costume, his face covered with a mask, ex-agent Derek Chauvin appeared by video link from the high security prison where he has been detained for a month. This 44-year-old white police officer is charged with murder for asphyxiating George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, by kneeling on his neck for long minutes.
His three former colleagues Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, prosecuted for complicity in the murder, appeared in person in a court in this city in Minnesota, in the north of the United States. The first two were released on bail on bail of $ 750,000. The latter is still in custody but has been transferred to court for this hearing.
The four, all of whom were laid off from the police, face up to 40 years in prison. They have not yet said whether they plan to plead guilty or not. On May 25, they wanted to arrest George Floyd suspected of having tried to sell a counterfeit 20 dollar bill in a Minneapolis store. The man in his forties, handcuffed, was pressed to the ground and Constable Derek Chauvin applied his knee to his neck to keep him there. "I can't breathe," pleaded George Floyd several times before he lost consciousness. Despite the interventions of passers-by, Derek Chauvin continued to exert pressure.
"Great public interest"
The drama, whose images captured by a passer-by went viral, sparked a wave of unprecedented protests since the great civil rights marches of the 1960s, which even went beyond American borders. Processions mingled with calls to reform the police, end inequality between black and white Americans, and take on the country's racist and slavery past.
During the hearing, Derek Chauvin's lawyer complained that many officials, including the mayor of Minneapolis or even President Donald Trump, had commented on the case. "This is a file that is of great public interest," admitted Mr. Eric Nelson, "but if these statements continue I will ask the justice" to ban them, he threatened. Judge Peter Cahill, who had banned cameras in the courtroom, also wanted the case to be tried in court, not in the media. Otherwise, the trial will have to be changed outside of Hennepin County, he said.
The magistrate fixed March 8, 2021, the possible date for its holding. This may however be reviewed depending on the progress of the procedure. Prosecutor Matthew Frank also said he wanted a "fair trial" and promised to recommend that the family, elected officials and investigators in charge of the case refrain from commenting on the case publicly in the future.
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At the same time, outside of the courthouse, an uncle of George Floyd wanted the trial not to be held in Minnesota. "I'm not mad at anyone," Selwyn Jones, who came from South Dakota on purpose for the hearing, told reporters. But for him the trial "will not be fair" if it takes place in this state where the black population is very minority. The next hearing has been set for September 11. A symbolic date too ...
