1 officer charged in George Floyd death seeks case dismissal

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By AMY FORLITI

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — An attorney for one of four Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd is asking to have his client’s case dismissed, saying there isn’t probable cause to charge him based on all of the evidence in the case and the law.

In court filings made public Wednesday, Thomas Lane’s attorney, Earl Gray, painted an image of a rookie officer who trusted his senior officer after Floyd had been acting erratically, struggling and hurting himself. Gray said Lane had asked twice if officers should roll Floyd on his side, and the senior officer — Derek Chauvin — said no.

As part of his court filing, Gray filed transcripts from body camera footage recorded by Lane’s camera and the camera of his partner, J. Kueng, as well as a transcript of Lane’s interview with state investigators. Gray wrote that all of the evidence exonerates his client and that it is not “fair or reasonable” for Lane to stand trial.

Floyd, a Black handcuffed man, died May 25 after Chauvin, a white officer, pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly 8 minutes and held it there even after Floyd said he couldn’t breathe and stopped moving.



Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane, right, walks out of the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility on Monday afternoon June 20, 2020, in Minneapolis with his attorney, Earl Gray, after a hearing. Lane is one of four former officers charged in the death of George Floyd. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/24f07a3f4c803166a4292c774f451f25

[ck4829]

1. Sounds like he REALLY doesn't want to testify against his fellow officers

[ansible]

2. He did seem to be the only officer who tried to do something to stop Chauvin

[pnwmom]

3. And if he's the one who'd only been a rookie for two weeks, it seems like he has less culpability

than the others. Is there some lesser charge he can be charged with?

[Codeine]

4. Let him roll on his fellow Nazis,

and then maybe lesser charges can be discussed.

[forgotmylogin]

5. He should stand with the others and give his side of it.

If he's not culpable, that's what a trial is designed to figure out.

It's like - just because you don't think you have COVID because you weren't that close to infected people doesn't mean you shouldn't still test for COVID.

[Igel]

7. Except that a trial is different than a simple test.

More like having your nasopharyngeal cavity examined through your ear canal, if not through your anus.

Or, given that trials these days are dual, both in social media and in the courts, both at the same time.

[atreides1]

6. Does he know right from wrong?

Or, is he an automaton...completely void of the ability to think on his own?

Less culpable, you say?

Mr. Lane isn't all that innocent...

https://www.insider.com/fired-minneapolis-police-officer-thomas-lane-had-criminal-record-2020-6

[rocktivity]

8. Does he know that a knee on someone's neck for nine minutes

can be fatally hazardous to your health?


rocktivity

[pnwmom]

9. He asked his superior multiple times if they should turn Floyd on his side.

Yes, he should have done more, in retrospect. But I don't think the rookie bears as much responsibility as Chauvin.

[JonLP24]

10. I want to hear the prosecutor's case on the defendants before deciding they should be let go

[pnwmom]

11. I didn't say anyone should be let go. But we could all see Chauvin with his knee on the guy's neck

and the rookie asking Chauvin if they should turn him on his side. It was Lane's 4th day on the force, and Chauvin was his "training officer." Their two crimes don't seem to be equal.

[Steelrolled]

12. I was a little skeptical when I heard all four were charged.

It seemed unlikely they would have a strong case for all of them. I suspected it was more based on public pressure then evidence, and the prosecutors figured they would sort it out later.