George Floyd case: Thomas Lane’s attorney releases body cam transcripts, seeks dismissal

MINNEAPOLIS — The attorney for one of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd filed transcripts from two body cameras as he sought dismissal of charges against Thomas Lane.

Attorney Earl Gray filed the motion and documents Tuesday in Hennepin County District Court, seeking dismissal of charges against Lane, the Star Tribune reported. Lane, along with former officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter in the May 25 killing of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man from Minneapolis, the newspaper reported.

The fourth former officer, Derek Chauvin, is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Floyd after kneeling on the man’s neck for nearly eight minutes.

As part of his filing, Gray submitted footage recorded by the body cameras of Lane and Kueng and a transcript of Lane’s interview with state investigators, KTSP reported.

In his filing, Gray asserts that Lane “did not intentionally aid, advise, hire, counsel, or conspire with (Derek) Chauvin or otherwise procure Chauvin to commit second-degree murder,” WCCO reported.

Gray argued that Lane, who was holding Floyd’s legs during his arrest, asked Chauvin twice if they should turn the handcuffed man onto his side, rather than lying flat on his stomach, the Star Tribune reported. Chauvin refused both times, Lane said.

The filing also included 30 pages of training materials used by the Minneapolis Police Department, including information about a “maximal restraint technique” and a photo of an officer with his knee on a suspect’s neck, similar to Chauvin’s actions, KARE reported.

Gray told the Star-Tribune on Wednesday that the courts should make the two body camera videos he filed available to the public.

“I think the public should see it,” Gray told the newspaper. “That shows the whole picture. If they watch the whole thing, people … couldn’t cherry-pick parts of it.

“I don’t think (the public) should be restricted from seeing (the body camera footage) because the attorney general has come out and said my client committed murder. Showing just the last little piece there is not fair.”

Prosecutors have until Aug. 10 to file a response, KTSP reported.

Cox Media Group