The four Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s killing have received a trial date of March 8, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill said the date was made under the assumption that the former officers — Derek Chauvin, 44; J. Alexander Kueng, 26; Thomas Lane, 37; and Tou Thao, 34 — would be tried together, but he said that he expected motions to be filed by their attorneys for separate trials.
Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly 9 minutes. He is charged with second-degree murder and is in custody on $1 million bail.
Kueng, Lane and Thao are charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin. Thao is held on $750,000 bail. Lane and Kueng are free on bond.
Kueng filed a document stating he intends to plead not guilty. None of the other officers have entered a plea.
Cahill also warned public officials and attorneys to not speak about the case publicly, though he didn’t issue a gag order.
"The court is not going to be happy about hearing about the case in three areas: media, evidence and guilt or innocence," Cahill said, adding that it was "in everyone's best interest" that no public statements be made by family, friends or law enforcement officials. He said such statements were "endangering the right to a fair trial."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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