MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer who held his knee to the neck of George Floyd for minutes will be tried separately from three other former officers accused of his death.
Court documents filed Tuesday show Derek Chauvin will stand trial alone in March due to the coronavirus pandemic while the others will be tried together in the summer.
According to The Associated Press, Chauvin's trial will begin on March 8.
The judge wrote that it would be impossible to comply with social distancing made necessary by the coronavirus if all four defendants were tried at the same time.
In October, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill dismissed a third-degree murder charge against Chauvin.
Chauvin, who is white, is charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after the May death of Floyd, who was Black.
The other three former officers - Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane - are charged with aiding and abetting and will stand trial together beginning Aug. 23, The AP reported.
