State trial delayed for Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng until January 2023
UPDATE: The court later ruled to move the trial to begin with jury selection on Oct. 24, 2022. The previous story is below.
MINNEAPOLIS -- The state trial for two former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's death has been postponed until next year.
On Monday, a Hennepin County court ruled that Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng's trial will be continued until the morning of Jan. 5, with jury selection beginning on Jan. 9 and opening statements on Jan. 30.
The court's decision comes after the defense filed a motion to change the venue or to continue the trial date. The court agreed that postponing the trial will diminish the impact of Thomas Lane's guilty plea and all three men's convictions in a federal trial earlier this year.
The motion to change venue was denied. The court says there is no part of Minnesota - or nationally - where there hasn't been extensive news coverage of the events surrounding Floyd's death and the subsequent criminal charges brought forth against all four former Minneapolis police officers.
The trial was set to begin on June 13. Both men are charged with aiding and abetting Floyd's murder.
Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in 2021. Earlier this year, Kueng, Thao and Lane were found guilty in federal court of depriving Floyd of his civil rights.
Ex-officer Lane pleaded guilty to aiding in abetting manslaughter in Floyd's murder in the state trial, and agreed to a three-year sentence.
Chauvin is currently servicing a 22.5-year sentence for his murder conviction.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after Chauvin pinned the Black man to the ground with his knee on his neck for 9 minutes, 29 seconds. Floyd had been accused of passing a counterfeit $20 bill at a convenience store.
