Defense: Chauvin called ‘all of the shots’ when Floyd killed

By AMY FORLITI and STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Prosecutors in the trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s civil rights accused the men of standing by as fellow Officer Derek Chauvin “slowly killed George Floyd right in front of them.” One defense attorney countered in the trial’s opening statements Monday that Chauvin called “all of the shots” as the senior officer at the scene. Former Officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are broadly charged with depriving Floyd’s civil rights while acting under government authority. Floyd died after Chauvin pressed him to the ground with his knee on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while the 46-year-old Black man was facedown, handcuffed and gasping for air. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back. Lane held his legs. Thao kept bystanders back.