Derek Chauvin Trial: What To Know About The Charges, Jurors And More

Opening statements in the high-profile trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck as he lay dying in May 2020, are set to begin at 9 a.m. local time Monday.

Chauvin, 45, is charged with second- and third-degree murder as well as manslaughter in Floyd’s death. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

Video recorded on a bystander’s cellphone and viewed millions of times across the world showed Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, crying out for help as Chauvin, who is white, and two other police officers pinned him to the ground.

Floyd’s killing sparked months of nationwide protests against police brutality and racism and led to a worldwide reckoning against racial injustice.

Here’s what else you need to know as Chauvin’s trial unfolds:

How Floyd Died

On May 25, 2020, the Monday of Memorial Day weekend, two Minneapolis police officers ― Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane ― responded to a call shortly after 8 p.m. about a man trying to use a counterfeit $20 bill at a corner market, according to a criminal complaint filed by the state of Minnesota.

The suspect, Floyd, was sitting in a parked car near the store with two other passengers when Kueng and Lane arrived, the complaint stated. After Lane began speaking to Floyd, the officer pointed his gun at Floyd’s open window. He then pulled Floyd out of the car and handcuffed him. Floyd “actively resisted” being handcuffed, according to the complaint.

Read the full criminal complaint against Chauvin here.

Once handcuffed, Floyd was “compliant,” following Lane’s directions and engaging in a short conversation with the officer, the complaint stated. At 8:14 p.m., as Lane and Kueng attempted to walk Floyd to their patrol car, Floyd “stiffened up, fell to the ground and told the officers he was claustrophobic.”

Two more officers ― Chauvin and Tou Thao ― arrived about that time. They joined the other officers in trying to get Floyd into the backseat of the patrol car, but Floyd was not cooperating, according to the complaint. Floyd “began saying and repeating that he could not breathe.”