mughshots minneapolis police officers george floyd death
(L-R) Former Minneapolis police officers, Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J. Alexander Kueng are booked into Hennepin County jail for the death of George Floyd.
Minnesota Department of Corrections and Hennepin County Sheriff's Office/Handout via AP Photo and Reuters
  • The four officers involved in the killing of Goerge Floyd are now blaming each other for his death, The Washington Post reported. 
  • Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter, and second-degree murder. 
  • Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
  • Lawyers for all four men are arguing for separate trials. 
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The four former police officers who were charged in the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis all appear to be turning on each other, each claiming they thought someone else was in charge during the incident that ignited new calls for police accountability and racial justice, The Washington Post reported. 

Derek Chauvin, the officer seen in a viral video kneeling on Floyd’s neck, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, and a second-degree murder charge was brought forth against him by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. 

Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

According to The Post, the dispute centers around the rookie officers claiming they looked to Chauvin, who is a veteran officer for guidance, and the veteran officer claiming he was only assisting in the arrest.

“There are very likely going to be antagonistic defenses presented at the trial,” Earl Gray, a lawyer for Lane, wrote in a legal motion filed this week. “It is plausible that all officers have a different version of what happened and officers place blame on one another.”

Prosecutors have argued for a joint trial, but lawyers for all four men are arguing for separate trials and claimed they were worried that their clients could be "scapegoated" by the others, The Star Tribune reported. 

On Friday, a judge will hear arguments on whether the cases should be separate, but for now, a joint trial is scheduled for March 8 in Hennepin County District Court. 

Chauvin's lawyer Eric Nelson argued that the other three defendants would collude to imply that Chauvin is guilty of the third-degree murder charges but not the other charges. That would then allow them to walk free since they're not charged as accomplices in that count.

"As is evident from pretrial pleadings, the other three defendants are prepared to place the blame for Mr. Floyd's death squarely on Mr. Chauvin's shoulders," Nelson wrote. " Such a possibility is less likely if Mr. Chauvin were tried separately from the other defendants."

 

Nelson argued that Chauvin did not know the full extent of the situation when he arrived at the scene and suggested that Floyd died of a drug overdose and not from Chauvin kneeling on his neck for several minutes. 

He blamed Kueng and Lane, who were "struggling" to get Floyd into a squad car when Chauvin arrived for his death. 

"If EMS had arrived just three minutes sooner, Mr. Floyd may have survived. If Kueng and Lane had chosen to de-escalate instead of struggle, Mr. Floyd may have survived," Nelson wrote. "If Kueng and Lane had recognized the apparent signs of an opioid overdose and rendered aid, such as administering naloxone, Mr. Floyd may have survived."

Thomas Plunkett, an attorney for Kueng said he intended to "shift blame onto Chauvin during trial," The Tribune reported. 

Chauvin is a 19 year veteran of the force and had 18 complaints against him prior to Floyd's killing. 

Gray and Plunkett argued that their clients were "rookies" on the force who looked to Chauvin for guidance. While both had contact with Chauvin while they were in training, they were not weren't in training at the time of the incident and Chauvin had no direct supervisory role over them at the time. 

The lawyer for Thao previously argued that since Thao was busy "controlling angry bystanders" and couldn't see exactly what was happening when Floyd was pinned down that makes him in a uniquely distinct situation than the other three officers. 

According to The Post, authorities in Minneapolis are locking down the area surrounding the courthouse ahead of the hearing on Friday due to planned protests.

Protests erupted in Minneapolis and across the country after Floyd's death on May 25. Some of the protests turned violent with damage to both public and private property. 

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