Meet the key people at the center of the Chauvin trial
His death sparked protests across the United States, with demonstrators calling for justice in the death of the 46-year-old Black man. Chauvin is on trial on charges of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Here are some people at the center of Chauvin’s trial.
In Houston, where Floyd grew up, people called him by his last name. He worked security at a restaurant, and had a reputation for being dependable — there for people when they were down.
Floyd grew up in Houston’s Third Ward where he played basketball and football growing up. He played basketball at South Florida State College between 1993 and 1995.
Derek Chauvin
Derek Chauvin is facing charges of second-degree unintentional murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Chauvin was initially hired by the police department as a community service officer in January 2001, and served for about eight months before he was promoted to police officer, the personnel files show.
Floyd also worked at the club, but it is unclear whether the two ever worked together or even knew each other.
The other three officers on the scene
Left to right: J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tuo Thao
Thomas Lane
Lane, one of the officers who helped restrain Floyd, had been on the police force for four days when Floyd died, according to Lane’s attorney Earl Gray.
Lane joined MPD as a cadet in February 2019. He does not have a history of complaints.
Lane earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Minnesota in 2016 and then worked as a juvenile corrections officer for Hennepin County and as an assistant probation officer.
Lane’s police application states he previously worked as a server and bartender at various restaurants and was a sales associate at Home Depot. Under volunteer experience, Lane listed that he helps Somali youth in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood with their homework and tutors them in science and math activities.
He was fired from MPD in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.
J. Alexander Kueng
One of the officers who helped restrain Floyd, Kueng was working his third shift when Floyd died, Chauvin was his training officer, according to Kueng’s attorney, Thomas Plunkett.
Kueng joined MPD as a cadet in February 2019 and was hired as a police officer in December 2019.
He had no prior complaints and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota, according to his personnel file.
In his job application, Kueng said he worked as an asset protection detective for Macy’s from 2014 to 2017 and in a temporary job with Target. He listed that he can speak, read and write Russian.
He was fired from MPD in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.
Tou Thao
Thao stood near the other officers as they restrained Floyd. He had been with MPD since 2012 before being fired in the aftermath of Floyd’s death.
MPD documents show he had six complaints filed with internal affairs, five of which were closed without discipline as of last year.
Thao worked as a security guard, a stocker at a grocery store and trainer at McDonald’s before becoming a police officer. He attended the North Hennepin Community College and was working toward an associate degree in law enforcement, but he did not graduate, his personnel file shows.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill will be presiding over Derek Chauvin’s case.
Cahill has more than 30 years of experience practicing law in Minnesota and has taught at the University of Minnesota Law School, Mitchell Hamline School of Law and the University of St. Thomas Law School, according to his profile.
Eric Nelson, defense attorney
Eric Nelson is Derek Chauvin’s defense attorney.
Chauvin’s defense attorney has not made comments to CNN about the trial.
Keith Ellison, lead prosecutor
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announces charges against former Minneapolis police officers on June 3, 2020 in St Paul, Minnesota.
When he was tapped to lead the prosecution in the Floyd case, Ellison admitted police officers are difficult for prosecutors to convict even in what the public might view as the most clear-cut cases.
“Trying this case will not be an easy thing,” Ellison said last June. “Winning a conviction will be hard.”
The Minnesota Appeals Court ruled March 5 that a lower court should reconsider the motion to reinstate the charge. It is not clear what impact, if any, the ruling could have on the trial’s start date.
Matthew Frank, presenting prosecutor
Matthew Frank is Minnesota’s assistant attorney general.
He has served in the attorney general’s office for 21 years, spending the past 14 as the manager of the criminal division, according to a news release from the attorney general’s office.
Before he was a member of the attorney general’s office, he was a public defender in Anoka and Sherburne counties and an assistant county attorney in Wright County, according to the news release. He obtained his law degree from Hamline University School of Law, now Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
