Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted in the murder of George Floyd, has filed an appeal, citing 14 complaints in his trial held early this year, reported AFP.
In June, Chavin was convicted and was given a jail sentence of over 22 years for killing 46-year-old Floyd, a Black man, allegedly by kneeling on his neck for close to 10 minutes.
The incident, which took place in May 2020, had sparked widespread protests from across the world against police violence and racial discrimination in the United States (US).
On Thursday night, Chavin filed the appeal at the Minnesota district court, detailing his complaints. Chavin reportedly accused the state of prejudicial misconduct, besides listing a number of issues with the jury that was selected for performing his trial.
According to AFP, the ex-police officer accused the court of "abusing its discretion" by not considering his requests to postpone the trial, and refusing to sequester the jury for its duration.
Background
Soon after the incident in May last year, Chauvin was seen on video pressing his knee on Floyd’s neck for over eight-and-a-half minutes, which eventually lead to his killing. He was arrested on 29 May 2020 and charged with murder.
The video went viral on social media, where Floyd can be seen pleading, “I can’t breathe.”
Floyd had been handcuffed for allegedly passing a fake $20 bill at a corner store. He was accused of refusing to get into a squad car and “intentionally falling down”, saying he was claustrophobic and struggling to breathe, according to the complaint.
Chauvin was the first officer to be put on trial among the other three – Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J Alexander Kueng – who were accused of aiding and abetting murder. Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
(With inputs from AFP.)
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