Exhibits from Chauvin, Potter trials to be made public starting early next month

Judges in the trials this year of Derek Chauvin and Kimberly Potter have ordered that trial exhibits in the prosecution and conviction of the former police officers be released starting early next month.

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill wrote that 245 exhibits from the murder trial of Chauvin, the fired Minneapolis police officer convicted in April of murder for the May 2020 death of George Floyd, will be made available to the public and the news media from Feb. 7 to Feb. 18.

Cahill also said the entirety of the trial filmed by Court TV also will be available during those dates. Earlier this week, Cahill released the trial transcript, which can be read on the Minnesota Judicial Branch website.

Hennepin County District Judge Regina Chu, who presided over last month's conviction of Potter, an ex-Brooklyn Center police officer, for last April's fatal shooting of Daunte Wright, issued an order Thursday also authorizing the release of evidence. She offered no specifics other than saying that the dates of availability would be the same. Potter is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 18.

Among the restrictions Cahill is imposing on those who choose to view the exhibits at the Hennepin County Government Center: "No member of the press or the public may obtain copies or any of the audio-video exhibits ... by taking pictures of them or by other technical means of videotaping or duplicating them while viewing and inspecting such exhibits."

Cahill's order then goes on to list each of the exhibits entered into evidence, much of which was made public during the live coverage of trial and still available online.

The exhibits include teenager Darnella Frazier's cellphone video showing Chauvin kneeling on Floyd for more than nine minutes and body-camera video from Chauvin and the three other officers who detained Floyd that night.

The evidence was available to jurors during their deliberations and shown in open court during the trial, with the exception of autopsy photos and other graphic images, which were not shown on the Court TV livestream feeds viewed around the world.

The exhibits will be available for viewing on a dedicated laptop at the Records Center on the public-service level of the Hennepin County Government Center's A Tower. The laptop will be available on a first-come, first-served basis during business hours.

After Feb. 18, viewing of exhibits will continue to be available but only after making advance arrangements with the Records Center.

Only exhibits considered by the respective juries in their deliberations will be made available. A future judicial order will make the physical exhibits from the Potter trial available for viewing.