MINNEAPOLIS — Prosecutors and defense attorneys for three former Minneapolis officers charged in the death of George Floyd filed a joint request Friday to have the state trial postponed.
The delay request asks Judge Peter Cahill to postpone the state's March trial because of a federal trial that is set to begin Jan. 20 and "it is not known how long that trial will last," according to the court document.
The state trial is currently scheduled to begin in early March.
The delay request says both sides agree that "a continuance should be granted in the interest of justice." Prosecutors and defense attorneys are asking for an "informal scheduling conference" to determine a new trial date.
Tou Thao, J. Kueng and Thomas Lane are scheduled to go to court later this month in the federal civil rights trial, about nine months after Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death on May 25, 2020. Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal charges in December.
For the state trial, Thao, Lane and Kueng are each charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder, and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
Floyd's murder sparked outrage across the country and led to protests across the world.
Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison and is currently being held in Minnesota's only maximum security prison, Oak Park Heights.
