#Former cops charged in George Floyd’s death appear in court

The four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd appeared in court Friday for a hearing about whether or not they’d be charged together or in separate trials.

Attorneys for the former cops argued for them to be given separate trials, as each cop is seeking to downplay their role in the death of Floyd, who died after officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck during a May 25 arrest, Fox News reported.

Prosecutors urged the judge for each of them to be tried together because the cases against them are similar, and four separate trials could traumatize victims and Floyd’s family, ABC News reported.

“Here, all four Defendants worked together to murder Floyd: Chauvin, Kueng, and Lane pinned Floyd face-down, while Thao stopped the crowd from intervening, enabling the other Defendants to maintain their positions,” prosecutors argued in a court filing.

“Defendants also discussed and coordinated their actions throughout the incident,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing,” they added.

Chauvin, who is in custody, was hit with murder and manslaughter charges for allegedly killing Floyd. The three other former cops, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao, were charged with aiding and abetting Chauvin.

Chauvin’s attorney argued for a separate trial for his client because he’ll need a different defense from the three more junior cops.

“The other defendants are clearly saying that, if a crime was committed, they neither knew about it nor assisted in it,” Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, wrote in a court filing. “They blame Chauvin.”

Nelson also sought to shift some blame from Chauvin to the other cops, who he said “initiated contact” with Floyd and didn’t urgently call for medical responders as Chauvin knelt on his neck.

“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. 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,” Nelson wrote in the filing.

The four former cops are also seeking the trial be moved from Minneapolis, arguing they won’t be given a fair trial if they’re prosecuted in the city.

Floyd’s killing touched off a wave of anti-police brutality protests across the world after video of his death spread widely on the internet.