Court asked to void verdict against ex-cop in Floyd’s murder

By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — An attorney for Derek Chauvin has asked an appeals court to throw out the former Minneapolis police officer’s convictions in the murder of George Floyd. William Mohrman told the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Wednesday that the trial judge should have moved the case out of Minneapolis because of the extensive pretrial publicity, and fears of violent protests that led to unprecedented security precautions. Floyd died in 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pinned the Black man to the ground with his knee on his neck for 9 1/2 minutes. Prosecutors argued that Chauvin got a fair trial and just sentence.