The decision comes a week after the city agreed to pay Floyd’s estate $ 27 million – an announcement that defense lawyers argued would harm their client in the middle of the jury’s choice.
The Minneapolis city council voted unanimously last week to settle a lawsuit with Floyd’s family.
The public announcement of the deal in the middle of the jury’s choice infuriated Chauvin’s defense, who argued that it harmed jurors against his client. Lawyer Eric Nelson asked Judge Peter Cahill to move and delay the trial in light of publicity.
“The fact that this happened exactly in the middle of the jury’s selection – is perplexing to me, Your Honor, whose idea was to disclose this information when it was disclosed,” said Nelson.
Cahill also decided on Friday to admit limited evidence of a May 6, 2019 meeting between Floyd and the police.
Floyd’s arrest in 2019 came just over a year before Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes, while Floyd told Chauvin and three other officers that he couldn’t breathe.
“The bottom line here is that we have medical evidence about what happens when Floyd is faced with practically the same situation,” said the judge.
The defense request for a postponement of the trial came when the second week of jury selection came to an end at the trial of Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer accused of killing Floyd on May 25, 2020. Floyd’s final moments, recorded on video, they led to widespread protests against police brutality and racism under the Black Lives Matter banner, as well as incidents of unrest and looting.
The defense had previously requested that the trial be transferred out of Minneapolis, but Cahill preliminarily rejected the request in November.
Chauvin pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and wrongful death charges. He also pleaded not guilty to third-degree murder, an indictment reinstated in the case last week.
Twelve of the 14 jurors have already been selected. Two of these jurors will be alternates.