Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck on May 25, even though Floyd said he couldn’t breathe, is blaming the other three. His lawyer, Eric Nelson, pointed out that Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng were the first to arrive at the scene, responding to a phone call that Floyd had tried to pay with counterfeit money. According to him, they are to blame for the fact that Floyd died after the intervention.
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Lane and Kueng were convinced that Floyd was under the influence of addictive substances and called paramedics, but they no longer urged their arrival. Instead, they struggled to defeat him and get him in the company car. This worsened his conditions, says Nelson: “If the ambulance arrived three minutes earlier, Floyd could have survived, if Kueng and the Elbe had tried to escalate the situation, Floyd could have survived. If Kueng and Lane saw clear signs of an opioid overdose and provided assistance such as naloxone, Floyd could survive. ”
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From the beginning, Chauvin felt that Floyd was under the influence of the opioid fentanyl, as an autopsy showed, but his dose was not lethal.
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Chased Expoists from Minneapolis (from top left in a clockwise direction) Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng
Photo: Hcso, Reuters
Proponents of Lane and Kueng argue that they were newcomers who were led by an experienced Chauvin. Advocate for the last of the four, Tou Theo, added that his role was completely different – he was just supposed to keep the crowd at a distance and secure a scene.
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Murder charges
At Chauvin’s lawyer, Nelson said at a hearing attended for the first time by his client that the plaintiffs had to prove that Chauvin’s intention was to attack Floyd and that the others knew it. Chauvin is charged with second- and third-degree murder and homicide, the other three for aiding second-degree murder and homicide. Second- and third-degree murder is planned in advance.
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The lawsuit states: “All four defendants cooperated in the murder of Floyd. Chauvin, Kueng, and Lane pushed Floyd to the ground, while Thao stopped the crowd from intervening and allowed the other three to take their positions (in the action against Floyd). The accused also discussed and coordinated their actions during the incident. “
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The other three defendants claim, according to Nelson, that “if the crime was committed, they did not know about it and did not participate in it. They blame Chauvin. “
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The plaintiffs also reject the lawyers’ idea of each being tried separately, which would mean that the trials would not be fair and the evidence against one of the accused could influence the trials with the others. In addition, it would be unbearable for survivors to go through four processes.
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