Judge allows 3 ex-officers’ state trial to be delayed if new date agreement is reached

A Hennepin County judge has granted a request to delay the state trial for three former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death, as long as they can quickly agree on a new date.

Judge Peter Cahill ruled Wednesday that state prosecutors and the defense attorneys for Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao need to meet by Saturday and agree to a new date for the state trial by Sunday.

Cahill said any time from March 14, 2022, through Jan. 9, 2023, will be accepted by the court if both sides agree to a date. However, if they fail to reach an agreement by Sunday evening, the trial date will remain March 7.

Last week, the attorneys asked that the state trial be delayed because the officers’ federal trial is set to begin on Jan. 20 and it’s unclear how long that will last. Cahill said if no agreement is reached and the federal trial runs into the state trial start date, the state trial will be delayed on a day-by-day basis until the day after the federal trial ends.