MINNEAPOLIS — An attorney representing one of the four ex-Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd's death wants to block Facebook videos of the incident from being played at his client's August trial.
Defense attorney Thomas Plunkett filed a motion late Monday regarding the videos in J. Alexander Kueng's case; it was made public Tuesday, and does not apply to the March 8 trial of former Officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.
Plunkett asked Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill to prohibit prosecutors from "playing videos known as 'the Facebook videos'" because they are "irrelevant."
Bystander Darnella Frazier was 17 when she recorded and shared video of Floyd's May 25 arrest on Facebook, where it was viewed by millions.
Plunkett's motion did not elaborate on whether Frazier's video was included in his motion, and it's unknown how many Facebook videos have been gathered as evidence. While police body-cam video showed at least one other bystander recording the incident, Frazier's video was the lightening bolt that mobilized protesters in Minnesota and across the world to demonstrate against police use of force.
Plunkett declined to comment Tuesday.
"The videos are irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial because they do not show what Kueng and (ex-Officer Thomas Lane) actually perceived and saw during Mr. Floyd's arrest and will have a tendency to distort what the officer perceptions were on those matters," Plunkett wrote in his motion without elaborate further on the origins or content of the videos in question.
Kueng, Lane and ex-Officer Tou Thao are scheduled to be tried in one trial Aug. 23. They are charged with aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
Chauvin is scheduled to stand trial March 8 on second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.
All four, who were fired, are out on bond. Attorneys for the other three defendants have not weighed in on the whether the Facebook videos should be admitted as evidence in their client's trial.
Frazier's video has become the public image of Floyd's death, showing him begging for breath while Chauvin knelt on his neck. Out of the camera's view and obscured behind a squad car, Kueng knelt on Floyd's back while Lane knelt and held onto his legs. Thao controlled an angry crowd that had gathered.
Last December, Frazier was awarded the Benenson Courage Award from PEN America during a virtual gala celebration for recording and posting the video.
"With nothing more than a cellphone and sheer guts, Darnella changed the course of history in this country, sparking a bold movement demanding an end to systemic anti-Black racism and violence at the hands of police," PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel said in a statement announcing Frazier's selection.
A spokeswoman for Frazier and her family said at the time that Frazier was "humbled" and "very grateful" for the award.
Last May, Frazier told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that she started recording "as soon as I heard him trying to fight for his life" in front of her and other bystanders near the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue S.
"It was like a natural instinct, honestly" to start recording, said Frazier, who lives in the neighborhood. "The world needed to see what I was seeing. Stuff like this happens in silence too many times."
Frazier said at the time that she hoped her video revealing the actions taken against Floyd can in some way bring about "peace and equality. We are tired of (police) killing us."
She said it was obvious to her that the officer, Derek Chauvin, had "seen how weak (Floyd) was, and he still proceeded. ... My video proves what really happened."
