Trial to begin for 3 ex-officers charged in connection with George Floyd's death

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Trial to begin for 3 ex-officers charged in connection with George Floyd's death

Transcript¹

Jury selection gets underway Thursday in the federal trial of three former Minneapolis police officers who are charged in connection with the death of George Floyd in 2020.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Jury selection gets underway this week at the federal courthouse in downtown St. Paul. That's for the trial of three former police officers charged in connection with the May 2020 killing² of George Floyd. Jon Collins of Minnesota Public Radio reports.

JON COLLINS, BYLINE³: Thomas Lane and his partner J. Alexander Kueng were the first officers on scene in south Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. That's after workers at a corner store called 911 to report that someone tried to pass a counterfeit⁴ $20 bill. Lane's body camera recorded the initial confrontation⁵ with George Floyd, who was sitting in a car outside the store.

(SOUNDBITE OF STREET AMBIENCE, KNOCKING ON GLASS)

COLLINS: After they tried to wrestle⁶ Floyd into the back of a squad⁷ car, veteran Derek Chauvin took Floyd to the ground and kneeled on his neck for more than nine minutes while a fourth officer kept bystanders at bay. Floyd died at the scene. Chauvin was found guilty in state court this spring and sentenced to 22 1/2 years. He pleaded guilty last month to federal charges that he violated Floyd's civil rights. Now the other three former Minneapolis police officers at the scene during Floyd's killing are set to go on trial for violating George Floyd's constitutional rights.

Mark Osler is a former federal prosecutor⁸ and a law professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in St. Paul. He says the federal trial will be quite different from the state murder trial against Chauvin.

MARK OSLER: This trial is really unique and important because it does present the question of the duty of officers on what they didn't do, as opposed to reviewing actions themselves, and how that's perceived by the jury and by the nation is going to be really interesting to watch.

COLLINS: Former officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are charged with failing to provide Floyd with medical aid. Kueng and Thao also face charges that they failed to intervene with Chauvin's use of force on Floyd. Lane's case is seen by legal observers as the strongest. He repeatedly asked Derek Chauvin whether they should flip⁹ George Floyd over. Body camera video also captured Lane assisting paramedics as they tried to save Floyd's life.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: You do CPR.

THOMAS LANE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: And...

COLLINS: Former officer Tou Thao kept bystanders to Floyd's killing away from Chauvin and Floyd. And former officer J. Alexander Kueng helped Chauvin hold Floyd down. Going on trial without Chauvin could benefit the other former officers, Osler says.

OSLER: I think they'll add to one another in the sense that they're all going to point at Derek Chauvin as the primary actor here, maybe as someone that they were scared of or intimidated¹⁰ by even.

COLLINS: Angi Porter is a research fellow at Georgetown University Law Center with roots in the Twin Cities. She says the outcome of the federal trial of these former officers could change how prosecutors¹¹ approach the upcoming state trial.

ANGI PORTER: They want to do justice, but they also tend to negotiate because if they can avoid pulling together all those resources to put on a whole trial, they will.

COLLINS: Floyd's killing sparked unrest in the Twin Cities and calls for police accountability nationwide. Nekima Levy¹² Armstrong is a civil rights attorney and activist¹³. She says recent prosecutions¹⁴ of police officers are largely due to public pressure.

NEKIMA LEVY ARMSTRONG: Change has happened as a result of people consistently taking to the streets over the last several years and demonstrating and raising public awareness¹⁵ regarding police officers being able to kill people with impunity¹⁶ and how unfair that entire process has been, not to mention deadly.

COLLINS: The judge has said he hopes to conclude the trial within two weeks.

For NPR News, I'm Jon Collins.

(SOUNDBITE OF ALFA MIST'S "FIRST LIGHT")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

5 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

6 wrestle   

vi.摔跤，角力；搏斗；全力对付

参考例句：

• He taught his little brother how to wrestle.他教他小弟弟如何摔跤。
• We have to wrestle with difficulties.我们必须同困难作斗争。

7 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

8 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

9 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

10 intimidated   

v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的

参考例句：

• We try to make sure children don't feel intimidated on their first day at school. 我们努力确保孩子们在上学的第一天不胆怯。
• The thief intimidated the boy into not telling the police. 这个贼恫吓那男孩使他不敢向警察报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

12 levy   

n.征收税或其他款项，征收额

参考例句：

• They levy a tax on him.他们向他征税。
• A direct food levy was imposed by the local government.地方政府征收了食品税。

13 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

14 prosecutions   

起诉( prosecution的名词复数 )； 原告； 实施； 从事

参考例句：

• It is the duty of the Attorney-General to institute prosecutions. 检察总长负责提起公诉。
• Since World War II, the government has been active in its antitrust prosecutions. 第二次世界大战以来，政府积极地进行着反对托拉斯的检举活动。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

15 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

16 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。