Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, is set to change his plea to guilty this week in a federal civil rights case.
A grand jury indicted Chauvin and the other three officers involved in Floyd’s death — J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao — with depriving Floyd of his rights under the color of law.
One count against Chauvin alleges he deprived Floyd of the right to be free from unreasonable seizure. Another count alleges Kueng and Thao failed to intervene in preventing the unreasonable seizure. And a third count that names all four officers accuses them of depriving Floyd of his liberty without due process of law.
Court documents show Chauvin pleaded not guilty to the counts against him on Sept. 14.
The change of plea hearing is set for 8 a.m. Wednesday at the federal courthouse in St. Paul, according to a news release from the Minnesota U.S. District Court.
All officers were set to be tried jointly. The lawyers representing Kueng, Lane, and Thao all filed motions asking to have their trials severed from Chauvin, but the judge presiding over the case rejected their requests.
A Hennepin County jury already convicted Chauvin of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Judge Peter Cahill sentenced him to 22½ years in prison for his crimes.
