In closing arguments at trial of three former Minneapolis officers, attorneys spar over 'willful' intent and 'politics' of policing

On the final morning of their civil rights trial, a federal prosecutor described to jurors how three former Minneapolis police officers watched and listened but did not help as Derek Chauvin killed a man "in broad daylight on a public street."

The officers knew George Floyd needed aid, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Manda Sertich. They were trained that every second counted when it came to starting life-saving procedures for an unresponsive man. They had the ability to help Floyd, she said. But they didn't.

Former officer Tou Thao's attorney, Robert Paule, called Floyd's death a tragedy. "However, a tragedy is not a crime," he said.

Sertich began a full day of closing arguments in St. Paul's federal courthouse Tuesday, followed by three separate statements from the defense attorneys who said their clients did all they could.

Instead of intervening, Sertich said, officer Thao "mocked" Floyd, telling concerned bystanders that this is "why you don't do drugs, kids." Officer Thomas Lane did suggest turning Floyd over, which Sertich said proves he recognized the medical emergency. But when Chauvin denied the request, Lane did nothing to help Floyd, she said.

Officer J. Alexander Kueng held Floyd below the waist and "casually picked gravel out of the tire in front of him," then laughed when Chauvin said that the dying man talked a lot for someone who claimed he couldn't breathe, she said.

"They chose not to aid George Floyd, as the window into which Mr. Floyd's life could have been saved slammed shut," Sertich said in closing remarks that spanned almost two hours. "This is a crime. The defendants are guilty as charged."

Attorneys for Lane and Kueng both emphasized their clients were rookies, and Minneapolis police code dictated they defer to Chauvin, the most senior officer on scene.

"Tom Lane can't argue with him," said Earl Gray, Lane's attorney. "That's common sense. ... Chauvin was going to be the leader of the pack with these two kids."

The arguments follow more than a month of testimony, which included each of the officers taking the witness stand and speaking publicly for the first time in their own defense.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson planned to give instructions to the jury Wednesday and turn the case over to them for deliberations.

Sertich asked jurors to reject a key defense argument that the officers were incapable of telling Chauvin to remove his knee from Floyd's neck as he "slow-motion" cut off the man's oxygen. She said the bystanders who cried out for them to intervene, including a 9-year-old, prove this to be a false narrative.

"Those civilians didn't have a badge," the prosecutor said. "They didn't have other officers who could back them up. They knew these officers they were watching had more power than they did, more authority than they did and could cause trouble for them. And they still insisted."

Sertich broke down each element of the civil rights law, including how the officers knew they had an obligation to help the man in their custody and "willfully" failed to do so — legally defined as acting with "bad purpose."

"These defendants knew what was happening, and contrary to their training, contrary to common sense, contrary to basic human decency, they did nothing to stop Derek Chauvin or help George Floyd," Sertich said. "You know it, because you've seen it."

Sertich accused the three officers of lying on the stand. She said Kueng falsely testified he couldn't hear the bystanders on the sidewalk pleading for them to help Floyd. Thao claimed he felt unsafe, but turned his back to the crowd, she said.

"The reason a person lies is because a person knows he has something to hide," she said. "It's evidence of willfulness."

Paule said Thao was only trying to help "a couple of rookies who've been paired together" when he responded to back them up during his lunch break on May 25, 2020. Thao knew it was gang turf, Paule said, and "an area that might be a little more hostile to police than other areas."

Thao didn't know what led up to the struggle with Floyd, but he saw three officers unable to get a suspect in the squad, Paule said.

"Think about that," he said. "Three officers are not able to control a person in handcuffs."

Paule pointed out that the officers upgraded the urgency of the ambulance call, which showed they didn't "willfully" neglect to help Floyd. "They didn't do that for a bad purpose," Paule said. "They did that to get medical people there quickly."

Kueng's attorney, Thomas Plunkett, blamed "inadequate training," "lack of experience," a "perceived subordinate role" to Chauvin and a "hostile" crowd for Floyd's death.

Kueng was "under the influence" of Chauvin, his former training officer, Plunkett said. "He respected this person. He looked up to this person. He relied on this person's experience."

Plunkett asked the jury to consider the hectic case from the perspective of his client, who spent most of the time behind a car tire holding Floyd below the waist, and not the "20/20 hindsight" of a wide-view bystander video. "The question is: What did he see, perceive and experience?" Plunkett said.

Gray expressed outrage that his client was even charged. He said Lane asked to roll Floyd into a recovery position, but Chauvin said no. "It wasn't a maybe, it was a no," Gray said.

A paramedic acknowledged Lane's helpfulness once EMS arrived on the scene. "Doesn't that show that he was not deliberately indifferent? Isn't that substantial evidence?" Gray asked.

Plunkett and Gray both ended their closings by suggesting their clients were targets of political prosecutions, both warning against "mob" justice.

Gray called the charge against Lane an example of "mob politics," adding it's "very dangerous now to be a cop ... very dangerous."

"Why did the government indict them?" Gray said. "We all know why. Politics, ladies and gentlemen. He was indicted – an innocent man."

Appearing to anticipate the argument, Sertich said earlier that Minneapolis depends every day on good cops who protect public safety. "This case isn't about those officers," she said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney LeeAnn Bell closed with rebuttal remarks, emphasizing a phrase she said is key to the case: "In your custody, in your care."

"They knew what their training was," Bell said. "They knew what they were supposed to do and they didn't do it."

Before court started Tuesday, Magnuson dismissed a juror, a woman who appeared to be Asian. Absent more changes on Wednesday, the case will be decided by an all-white jury of eight women and four men.