An attorney for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin says he is “gravely concerned” about the impact on he potential juror pool of last week’s announcement of a large city settlement with the family of George Floyd.
Chauvin is facing charges in connection with Floyd’s May 2020 death. The trial is in the middle of jury selection, and have seated nine members of the jury so far.
On Friday, the City of Minneapolis announced they agreedto pay $27 million to the family of Floyd to settle a wrongful death lawsuit. The settlement reportedly includes $500,000 specifically for the neighborhood where Floyd was killed.
Before questioning potential jurors Monday, Chauvin’s attorney asked for a continuance and raised the possibility of possibly moving the trial to another city.
Judge Peter Cahill declined to grant a delay immediately, however he took it under advisement and said there had been “prejudicial pretrial publicity” and that he wishes “city officials would stop talking about this case so much.”
Of the nine jurors seated so far, six are men and three are women. There are five white people, two Black people, one Hispanic and one who identifies as multiracial. They range in age from 20s to 50s. Other details about the jurors are being withheld to protect their identity.
Another six jurors are needed to complete the jury and have two alternates. The trial is scheduled to start opening arguments on March 29.
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