Jury selected in one day for federal trial of officers in Floyd killing

A jury of 18 people, most of whom are white, was selected in one day for the trial involving three Minneapolis police officers involved in the killing of George Floyd, according to The Associated Press.

The jury was picked quickly in comparison to the jury that was selected for former officer Derek Chauvin’s trial, which took two weeks to finish selecting, the outlet reported.

Chauvin’s trial also had a jury with a more diverse racial background, being comprised of half white and half non-white members, notes the AP.

Former officers Tou Thao, a Hmong American, Thomas Lane, who is white, and J. Kueng, who is Black, are charged with depriving Floyd of his civil rights while acting under government authority as former officer Derek Chauvin restrained Floyd by pressing his knee to his neck.

U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson told a potential juror who was concerned that he could not be impartial because of his race, that “There is absolutely nothing about the subject of religion, race or ethnicity that’s involved in this case,” reports the AP. 

The Black man who held the concerns was later dismissed, despite Magnuson’s reassurance. 

According to the AP, the pool of jurors came from throughout the state, including from more conservative areas than the metro Minneapolis area from which Chauvin’s jury was selected. 

Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter. He also pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights charge.