Derek Chauvin: Former police officer convicted of George Floyd's murder asks judge for new trial
The former police officer who was convicted of George Floyd's murder has asked for a new trial, just two weeks after his guilty verdict was delivered.
Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin asked a Minneapolis judge on Tuesday for a new trial, court records showed, two weeks after he was found guilty of second- and third-degree murder and manslaughter in the killing of 46-year-old Mr Floyd.
In a series of motions filed to District Court Judge Peter Cahill, Chauvin's lawyer, Eric Nelson, claimed his client was deprived of a fair trial, adding there was prosecutorial and jury misconduct, errors of law at trial and that the verdict was contrary to law.
On April 20, a 12-member jury found Chauvin, 45, guilty on all three counts he faced after considering three weeks of testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officials and medical experts.
The rare verdict against a police officer is considered a milestone in the fraught racial history of the US and a rebuke of law enforcement’s treatment of Black Americans.
In a confrontation captured on video, Chauvin, a veteran of the police force, pushed his knee into the neck of Mr Floyd, who was handcuffed, for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020.
Chauvin and three fellow officers were attempting to arrest Mr Floyd, accused of using a fake $20 note to buy cigarettes at a grocery store.