The second of three former Minneapolis police officers accused of violating George Floyd's civil rights took the stand on Wednesday to testify. J. Alexander Kueng told jurors he "was not a fan of police whatsoever" before deciding to become one after negative interactions with officers growing up on the north side. Police “rubbed me the wrong way for a while,” Kueng testified in statements covered by Fox 9 reporter Rob Olson. He said he ultimately decided that if he wanted to see officers respond the way citizens deserve, he should "step up."
It’s difficult to understand how that officer could go on to allow a peer, former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, to kneel on a Black father’s neck for more than nine minutes.
Chauvin was convicted of murdering Floyd and sentenced to 22.5 years in prison in the state case against him. He pleaded guilty to federal charges in a plea deal that caps any additional time in prison at two and a half years. Former officers Tou Thao and Kueng pleaded not guilty to failing to intervene in Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force, and ex-officers Thomas Lane, Thao, and Kueng pleaded not guilty to willfully failing to aid Floyd. Lane and Kueng held the Black father down, and Thao blocked bystanders from providing him aid.
Kueng said he comes from a diverse family with two adopted brothers, two adopted sisters, a white mom, and a Black dad. The jury heard from Kueng’s mom, Joni Kueng, who testified that her son is compassionate and law-abiding, according to Olson.
Her testimony, however, was brief, while Kueng’s time on the stand covered his upbringing, professional training, and perspective on the scene of Floyd’s death.
Kueng testified that he was a security officer at Macy's before becoming a police officer. He said officers are taught to make sure the scene is secure before beginning CPR and that "there's no metric as to when safe … it's up to the officers involved," KSTP reported.
Kueng said he was given "defensive tactics" training, a phrase his attorney used instead of use of force training. Kueng also said in testimony covered by journalist Andy Mannix his training was "fast tracked" so he could work during the Super Bowl in Minneapolis. After being interviewed directly by former Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, Kueng said he was "very much" trained to walk and talk like a soldier and not to break rank.
Thao described a similarly militaristic style of policing in his testimony. He was the first defendant charged in Floyd’s death to take the stand in court after Chauvin invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege not to testify in the state trial. Thao’s testimony started on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday. He admitted he didn’t follow bystanders’ requests to check Floyd’s pulse and never told Chauvin to get off of Floyd. “I think I would trust a 19-year veteran to figure it out,” Thao said in testimony covered by the Associated Press.
Thao’s testimony for the defense lasted two hours and 25 minutes, and prosecutor LeeAnn Bell’s cross-examination was getting close to that amount of time Wednesday morning, the defense noted and journalist Rochelle Olson tweeted. U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson said Bell has the right to cross-examine, and cross-examine she did. Bell questioned Thao about what officers were doing minute by minute of the more than nine minutes Chauvin had his knee on Floyd's neck.
Rochelle Olson captured parts of the exchange:
“Bell: Did you raise any issues to your partners?
Thao: No.
Bell: Did you communicate to your partners what you were being told by the bystanders?
Thao: No. (After he initially said that "surely a 19-year veteran would know what to do.)”
Thao testified that officers were holding Floyd for emergency management services through Floyd taking his last words at 8:23:59. Thao said: "He's talking and it's hard to talk if you're not breathing and that was after Floyd stopped talking."
Officers kept restraining him. Thao said they had to. “To save his life we needed to hold him down for medical personnel," the former cop said.
He testified that he trusted his colleagues to handle Floyd even though Floyd appeared to be unconscious under Chauvin's knee. Thao said he didn't realize Floyd required serious medical attention until an ambulance left the scene.
Thao also testified on Tuesday about what he witnessed immediately upon arrival outside of Cup Foods store the day Floyd died on May 25, 2020. Thao said that he found Lane and Kueng struggling to get Floyd in their patrol car.
“I’ve never seen this much of a struggle," Thao testified. He said it was "obvious" that Floyd was "under the influence of some kind of drugs" and that he appeared to be in a state of "excited delirium," according to testimony NBC-affiliated KARE 11 covered. The National Institutes of Health wrote in its research of the condition that it is typically associated with drug use and puts the victim in danger of suffering cardiopulmonary arrest.
Thao testified that he looked for a type of restraint known as a hobble but decided not to use it after learning emergency management services were on the way. Thao said helping Floyd would take longer for first responders if they “had him tied up like a Christmas present."
Thao said it wasn't uncommon for him to see someone with a knee on a suspect's neck, but that he doesn't apply that strategy because his height would cause him to lose balance. Defense attorneys have consistently argued during cross-examinations that officers were given inconsistent use of force training, including a video showing a cadet with his knee on someone's neck, which an instructor did not correct.
Criminal defense attorney Tony Thedford, who isn’t affiliated with the federal case, told the Black News Channel the Minneapolis Police Department is "currently trying to right their ship, as we know based on the testimony at the Chauvin trial, but they still have sins that they have to pay for and account for.
"And I think Thao is trying to use that to try to slip out of this thing, and it may be effective," the attorney added.
RELATED: 'I’ve never seen this much of a struggle': Ex-cop Tou Thao implies George Floyd caused his own death
RELATED: Juror dismissed in case against three ex-cops accused of violating George Floyd's civil rights
