ST PAUL, Minn — At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022, 12 people who were strangers about a month ago walked out of a federal courtroom and into a jury room, where they will try to reach consensus on the guilt or innocence of three former MPD officers, now charged with violating the civil rights of George Floyd.
Of the jurors who are entrusted to deliver a verdict in the cases of J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, seven are from the Twin Cities metropolitan area and surrounding suburbs while the others are from four counties spread across southern Minnesota. All of them appear to be white.
While they are not diverse by race or ethnicity, the jurors selected to hear the case are different in age, economic status, political and philosophical views, and life experience. They are not identified by name but by number.
Here is a brief description of each.
JUROR 3
A man from Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is located. He's is a project captain at an architectural firm. Married with no kids. Has a master’s degree in architecture. Member of the American Home Brewers Association who said he likes to drink beer when he is not fixing up house.
JUROR 6
A man who has lived in Hennepin County for 40-some years. He works retail; his wife works in a grocery store. They have five kids. Has a degree in teaching French and education. Active in Minnesota Indonesia Society.
JUROR 11
A man who lives in Olmsted County in southeastern Minnesota. A computer programmer. His wife does medical research. Three children, one still in college. He has a bachelor’s degree. Involved in his Methodist church. He spends his free time exercising and reading.
JUROR 14
A woman who lives in Ramsey County. A public affairs director for a local government. Her husband is retired. She has children. One daughter is 11 and is a sixth grader. Active in state's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Graduated from University of Minnesota.
JUROR 16
A woman from Blue Earth County in southern Minnesota. She is retired and previously worked as an accountant for a feed manufacturing company. Her husband is retired from a municipal utility. She has two grown sons, one in sales and one a project manager for a homebuilder. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration. Involved with the University of Minnesota master gardener program.
JUROR 30
A woman from Washington County. Does logistics for a large local cooperative; her husband does the same thing for the same company. She has three kids ranging from 2 to 10 years old. She has a bachelor’s degree and a business minor. Likes to go up to northern Minnesota to spend time on a lake and camping with family.
JUROR 41
A man from Ramsey County. Works as a project manager in state government. His wife is a university researcher. He has a bachelor's degree in geology. He likes to spend free time “messing around with cars and motorcycles, reading, cooking with my wife and playing tennis when the weather allows.”
JUROR 43
A woman from Anoka County in the northern Twin Cities suburbs. She is a customer relations manager. Married 24 years to husband who is truck driver; three adult children. Has some college education; likes to travel and try new places.
JUROR 46
A woman from Jackson County in southwestern Minnesota. She home-schools her children. Her husband is a computer network administrator and owns his own business. They have five kids ranging from 12 to 20. Active in church and the YMCA swim team, which her girls swim on. She likes to read and she teaches in a home-school co-op.
JUROR 60
A woman from Scott County, just south of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. She does product development. Her husband is retired. Her children are ages 21 and 18. She has a master’s degree and spends her free time being active, walking dog, shoveling snow and listening to podcasts.
JUROR 69
A woman from Olmsted County. She is a food service worker at a hospital and her boyfriend is in the same job. She has a high school diploma. In her free time she likes to run around and get food with her boyfriend.
JUROR 70
A woman from Nicollet County in southern Minnesota. She is retired. Previously was a chef at a hospital in Indiana. Her spouse died in 2020. She has two children in their 40s. She is on the board for Real Life of St. Peter Cooperative Housing. She also is involved in her church and crochets.
Two others chosen as alternates are home, waiting in the wings to step in if one of the 12 gets sick, or is otherwise unable to perform their duties as a juror.
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