The jury in the trial of the three police officers who accompanied Derek Chauvik in the murder of George Floyd will face closing arguments. The officers stood by and watched as fellow officer Derek Chauvin checked George Floyd to death with his knee every as he cried for mercy. Derek Chauvin held him in that position for over 9 minutes till he died on the scene.
The three former officers, charged with aiding and abetting murder, have claimed that they trusted their senior officer. Tou Thao, 36, Thomas Lane, 38, and Alexander Kueng, 28, stand indicted for violating the constitutional rights of George Floyd since they chose not to intervene against Derek Chauvin as he slowly choked Floyd to death.
They also aided Chauvin as they at different times used their knee to restrain George Floyd though he was never seen resisting the cops.
The testimony was completed on Monday and the Jury will hear the prosecution’s final arguments and all the four defense layers on Tuesday. The deliberations will then begin.
During Derek Chauvin’s murder trial, he had called on police officers, one eyewitness, a medical examiner, and a paramedic to testify for him. He did appear on the stand. Chauvin was convicted of 2nd-degree murder and sent to prison for 22.5 years.
Officer Tou Thao Maintains It Wasn’t His Job To Save George Floyd
The defense of Officer Tou Thao was that it wasn’t his job, summing up the general attitude of the officers at the scene. The ex-officer claimed before the jury that it was a common practice to retrain a subject by using a knee to the neck.
It was the job of all four officers present at the scene to protect life and ensure the safety of the person arrested. And they failed in that job terribly.
The officers have been trying hard to get off the hook by blaming the other three at the scene. Both Chauvin and Thao had past cases of excessive use of violence against them, with Chauvin having one fatal case from the past.
Experts say the outcome of the trial could have a greater impact on policing, greater than even the conviction of Derek Chauvin. The case against the police officers carries a more significant aspect, the tendency of officers to not intervene in the excesses of other officers.
The three police officers will realize that it is not their duty to follow the lead of a rogue lead officer. They should have had the courage to contradict and report when a fellow officer was breaking the law.