Former Minneapolis officer Kueng asks court to remove Hennepin County Attorney’s Office from prosecution

A former Minneapolis police officer charged in the death of George Floyd has filed a motion asking the court to not allow the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to participate in the prosecution of his case.

An attorney for J Alexander Kueng filed the motion Wednesday.

The filing says Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman "through his actions and statements has compromised his ethics, duty to the community and ability to impartially prosecute the case against Mr. Kueng." Therefore, the filing says, his office should be removed from the case.

It adds that Freeman’s involvement in the case "assures that regardless of the outcome, the perception of proceedings will be perceived as unreliable."

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The filing continues, stating that the attorney’s office frequently had to work with Minneapolis police and it wouldn’t be appropriate for the attorney’s office to prosecute Kueng given the unique relationship between the officers and the attorney’s office.

Other reasons given for the removal of the attorney’s office, per the filing, include Freeman’s lack of candor about why Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office was brought in to prosecute the case, improper leaks, such as an alleged leak regarding a plea negotiation for former officer Derek Chauvin, and Freeman’s improper and seemingly biased public statements against the officers.

Kueng, along with Tou Thao and Thomas Lane, are charged with aiding and abetting unintentional second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Chauvin is charged with unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.