2 Jurors Dropped From Derek Chauvin Trial After $27 Million Civil Settlement

Two additional jurors were chosen Wednesday, bringing the total back to nine. There are five men and four women. Five are white, one is multiracial and three are Black, and their ages range from their 20s to 50s. Fourteen jurors, including two alternates, are needed.

The newest jurors are a Black man in his 40s who said he works in management and has lived in the Twin Cities area for about two decades after immigrating to America, and a white woman in her 40s, who works as a consultant helping companies work through transitions.

The man said he had a neutral view of Chauvin, and could start with a presumption of innocence. He said he trusts police, but that it would be fair for a jury to evaluate the officer’s actions.

The woman said she agreed that police don’t always treat white and Black people equally, but that she has a pretty strong faith in police in her community. She said it’s important for people to cooperate with police.

“I’ve probably been taught or learned along the way that you respect police and you do what they ask,” she said.

Several were excused, including a man whose race was not disclosed who said he would tend to believe a police officer’s version of events over that of a citizen, and a Black man who expressed negative views about the Minneapolis Police Department.

He said Floyd was an example of another Black man “killed” or “murdered” by police, and that he had seen Minneapolis police ride through the area near Floyd’s arrest and antagonize residents after someone had been shot or jailed.

Another man who said he is white was dismissed after saying he had watched video of Floyd’s and Chauvin’s interaction multiple times and that it would be difficult for him to presume Chauvin’s innocence.

Chauvin is charged with murder and manslaughter in the May 25 death of Floyd, a Black man who was declared dead after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against his neck for about nine minutes. Floyd’s death, captured on bystander video, set off weeks of sometimes-violent protests across the country and led to a national reckoning on racial justice.

The judge said he will rule Friday on Nelson’s request to delay or move the trial and another to admit evidence of Floyd’s 2019 arrest in Minneapolis.

Three other former officers face an August trial in Floyd’s death on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter.

The judge opened court Wednesday by threatening to remove a media pool and shut down a media center. A visibly angry Cahill described a pool report that included a reporter’s attempts to read notepads at the defense and prosecution tables and described security in the court where the trial is taking place.

Cahill said any media that posted details about security should take them down or risk being kicked out of the media center. He did not name any reporters or media organizations.