Trial Of 3 Cops In Floyd Killing To Resume After COVID Pause

FILE – This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota on June 3, 2020, shows, from left, former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. The former policer officers are on trial in federal court accused of violating Floyd’s civil rights as fellow Officer Derek Chauvin killed him. Judge Paul Magnuson abruptly recessed on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022 after one of the defendants tested positive for COVID-19. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File)

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers charged with violating George Floyd’s rights is expected to resume after it was paused because one of the defendants tested positive for COVID-19.

The court never said which defendant had the coronavirus, but J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were in court the day the trial was stopped and Thomas Lane was not.

Federal prosecutors say the three officers deprived Floyd of his rights when they failed to give him medical aid as Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the Black man’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes while Floyd was handcuffed, facedown and gasping for air.

Kueng and Thao are also accused of failing to intervene. The trial is expected to resume Monday.