Jury selection continues in Minneapolis trial of ex-officer in Floyd
death
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[March 22, 2021]
By Jonathan Allen
(Reuters) - Jury selection was due to
continue on Monday in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, the former
Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd last
year in a violent arrest that spurred nationwide protests against
racism.
Twelve jurors and one alternate have been seated since the trial began
two weeks ago: five white women, two white men, three Black men, one
Black woman and two multiracial women, according to court records.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill said he wants to find two
more alternates before opening arguments, which are scheduled to begin
on March 29.
A bystander's video showed Chauvin, who is white, with his knee on
Floyd's neck as Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, begged for his life
during the arrest on May 25, 2020.
Cahill and the lawyers in the case have questioned more than 60
potential jurors in court to weigh their impartiality as Chauvin,
dressed in a suit and tie, took extensive notes on a yellow legal pad.
Potential jurors all completed an unusually detailed 16-page
questionnaire last year asking them their knowledge of the arrest and
their opinions of Chauvin, policing, the media and the Black Lives
Matter movement for racial justice.
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A pedestrian walks past community murals painted on the side of what
was the Lake Street Kmart, which was destroyed in the wake of George
Floyd’s death, as jury selection continues in the trial of former
Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, on murder charges in the
death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., March 12,
2021. Picture taken March 12, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis
All of them have said they were aware of video. Almost all said they
had seen at least some of the footage, which sparked global protests
against police brutality and racism.
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree murder,
third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. He faces up to
40 years in prison if convicted on the most serious charge.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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