Prosecutors requested a three-month delay in the criminal trials of four Minneapolis officers charged in the May, 2020, death of George Floyd asking the court to wait until more people are vaccinated for COVID-19.
Jan.1 (UPI) — Prosecutors requested a three-month delay in the criminal trials of four Minneapolis officers charged in the May, 2020, death of George Floyd asking the court to wait until more people are vaccinated for COVID-19. Prosecutors asked for the trial date to be moved forward to June 7 from March 8 in a request to Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, saying the trial schedule, “appropriately balances the need to protect public health with the need to ensure that this case is resolved expeditiously,” the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported Friday. Delaying the trial, which may attract a large public crowd, “would substantially reduce the risks to trial participants from COVID-19,” prosecutors said. They also said the trial could be “delayed or disrupted by a COVID-19 outbreak among the trial participants.” Officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death on May 25.
