Officer charged in Floyd killing says he deferred to Chauvin

By STEVE KARNOWSKI and TAMMY WEBBER
Associated Press

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s killing testified Wednesday that he deferred to Derek Chauvin because he was his senior officer and that’s what he had been trained to do. J. Alexander Kueng is one of three former officers charged in federal court with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights when Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck as the 46-year-old Black man was handcuffed, facedown on the street. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, Thomas Lane held his legs and Tou Thao kept bystanders back. Kueng says he was concerned about officers’ inability to stop Floyd from thrashing around as they tried to arrest him. He said that when Lane suggested changing the restraint, Chauvin disagreed. Kueng said: “He was my senior officer and I trusted his advice.”