Prosecutors: Video will show 3 cops violated Floyd’s rights

By AMY FORLITI and STEVE KARNOWSKI

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Witness testimony gets underway in earnest at the federal civil rights trial of three former Minneapolis police officers accused of failing to intervene as fellow Officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd.

Officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were at the scene May 25, 2020, as Chauvin pinned Floyd’s neck to the ground with his knee for 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man was facedown in handcuffs and gasping for air.

Testimony resumes Tuesday after prosecutors and defense attorneys spent most of Monday delivering opening statements.

Chauvin was convicted last year of murder and pleaded guilty to a federal count of violating Floyd’s civil rights.

The other officers are broadly charged with depriving Floyd of his civil rights while acting under government authority.