George Floyd (Photo | AP) 
World

Former-Minneapolis cop argues for dropped charges in George Floyd death

Defense attorney Robert Paule filed a motion Wednesday saying Tou Thao will ask the judge to dismiss the charges at a hearing on September 11.

From our online archive

MINNEAPOLIS: A second former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd will seek to have the charges against him dismissed.

Defense attorney Robert Paule filed a motion Wednesday saying Tou Thao will ask the judge to dismiss the charges at a hearing on September 11.

An attorney for former officer Thomas Lane, Earl Gray, also has filed a motion saying he will argue to dismiss the charges against his client.

Paule said he will argue that the charges against Thao are not supported by probable cause.

Prosecutors must prove that Thao knew former officer Derek Chauvin and others were going to commit a crime and "intended his presence or actions to further the commission of that crime," Paule said in his motion.

Paule said Thao's body camera video will show the lack of probable cause.

Thao, 34, was seen in cellphone video standing near a crowd of bystanders as Chauvin pressed his knee to Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes on May 25 even after Floyd, who was Black, pleaded for air.

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter.

Thao, Lane and another officer, J. Kueng, are charged with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and manslaughter.

All four officers were fired.

Post Operation Sindoor, Pakistan waging proxy war, has clear agenda to destabilise Punjab: DGP Yadav

India acted in accordance with Lord Ram's ideals in Operation Sindoor: Rajnath Singh at Ayodhya Ram temple

Days after Bangladesh police's Meghalaya charge, Osman Hadi's alleged killer claims he is in Dubai

'CEC started losing temper': Abhishek Banerjee after meeting with poll body over SIR, says concerns were not addressed

Migrant worker stabbed for not speaking Tamil at Coimbatore bakery; police hunt suspects

SCROLL FOR NEXT