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February 17, 2022

Officers Say They Did Not Intervene in George Floyd's Murder Because They Trusted Derek Chauvin
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In St. Paul, Minnesota, the federal civil rights trial of three former
police officers involved in George Floyd's murder continues. On
Wednesday, J. Alexander Kueng said he was following senior officer Derek
Chauvin's lead when Kueng helped restrain Floyd. Kueng also testified he
never received training on how to intervene if a fellow officer used
excessive force, and that he didn't know if Chauvin was violating policy
when he pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for over nine minutes, slowly
killing him. Ex-cop Tou Thao presented a similar defense. During a tense
exchange, Thao told the prosecutor, "I think I would trust a 19-year
veteran to figure it out," when asked why he did not intervene to stop
Chauvin.


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