ST PAUL, Minn. — A federal judge has denied motions by three former Minneapolis police officers to acquit them after their convictions involving the murder of George Floyd.
J Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao had all asked Judge Paul Magnuson to overrule their convictions for violating Floyd's civil rights by not intervening when Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck, killing him.
The former officers filed for a judgement of acquittal under Rule 29, alleging evidence presented during the trial was insufficient to convict them. Kueng, Lane and Thao also asked Magnuson to declare a mistrial based on alleged prosecutorial misconduct, maintaining the state "persistently used leading, repetitive, and cumulative questioning of witnesses."
Judge Magnuson denied all six motions, concluding that the convictions of all three defendants are supported by evidence, and wrote that the motions did not establish that prosecutorial misconduct deprived them of their rights.
No sentencing date has been set, but the three men are scheduled to go on trial on June 13, exactly one month from Friday, on state charges involving Floyd's murder.
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