MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A Minneapolis police officer was swiftly fired and charged with murder after bystander video showed him pressing his knee into George Floyd
The first murder trial in a case that sparked worldwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism was to set to begin Monday, more than nine months after a horrifying cellphone video sent shock waves around the nation and abroad. Jury selection in the trial of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was caught on tape pressing his knee on George Floyd’s neck for several minutes, was expected to start at 9 a.m., but it was postponed for at least a day as prosecutors try to reinstate a third charge against the suspect.
Minneapolis remained on edge Monday with jury selection in limbo in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the ex-police officer who pressed his knee into the back of George Floyd’s neck before his death while in custody last May.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill said Monday he was sending potential jurors home for the day, suspending the start of the jury selection process until at least Tuesday. But jury selection might be delayed even further, as state prosecutors filed a new motion to the Court of Appeals asking to suspend the trial until the Minnesota Supreme Court weighs in on whether to reinstate a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin.
More than nine months after the killing of George Floyd, the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is getting underway, though with a delay in jury selection. Chauvin, the police officer who kneeled on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes while he said that he couldn't breathe, is facing charges of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter. Jury selection in his trial was set to begin on Monday, but was delayed until Tuesday, CNN reports. The delay came after an appeals court ordered Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to reconsider his dismissal of a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin, with prosecutors saying they'll file an appeal to "halt the selection process until the charges are set," NPR writes. The jury selection process was called off for the day on Monday pending a ruling on whether an appeals court will issue a stay in the case, The Washington Post reports. After Floyd's death was captured on vide