George Floyd (Image source: Instagram – @_stak5_)
A Minnesota judge has struck down a request to move the trial of the four former Minneapolis Police Department officers involved in the death of George Floyd.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill confirmed the upcoming trial for the officers — identified as Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane — will not only be held in Minneapolis, but will also broadcast live, according to the Star Tribune.
Cameras will be allowed inside the courtroom for the highly anticipated trial.
Cahill also ruled that jurors for the Floyd trial will remain anonymous and will be sequestered while the trial is underway.
The latest report comes months after the agonizing 8-minute and 46-second video sparked international protests against racial inequality and police brutality. Following Floyd’s highly publicized death, Chauvin was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Thao, Kueng, and Lane were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
Ben Crump, the prominent civil rights attorney representing the Floyd family, lauded Cahill for his ruling. On Thursday, Crump released a statement on behalf of the Floyd family.
“Trying these officers together will give the jury a complete picture of what happened on the day that George was murdered,” Crump said. “The judge’s decision to keep the trial in Minneapolis is the right one. We never see Black defendants get a change of venue to increase the fairness of their trials, and the White officers involved in the death of George Floyd should rightly face a jury of their peers in the city where this tragedy took place.”
As of Nov. 5, 2020, all four officers are currently out of jail on bond. The trial is set to begin on March 8, 2021, and will be held at the courthouse in downtown Minneapolis.
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