Four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd were mobbed by protesters as they left the Hennepin County courthouse on Friday.
The four attended a pre-trial hearing where their attorneys filed motions to dismiss the charges against them. Judge Peter Cahill ruled he would not rule on the defense motions to dismiss the charges.
The judge also declined to rule on motions to combine the four cases into one trial.
Former officer Derek Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death on May 25.
Viral video captured Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck for over 8 minutes until he expired. The footage sparked violent protests in Minneapolis and around the country.
Three former officers J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thau and Thomas Lane (pictured above) were fired from the police force and later charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Chauvin is the only former officer still in police custody while awaiting his murder trial.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman was disqualified from participating in the prosecution because he was present at an interview with a medical examiner, KHOU reported.
The judge also denied motions to allow two of Floyd’s earlier arrests into the record to be used as evidence.
No date was given for any additional pre-trial hearings.
