Feb. 21 (UPI) — One of three former Minneapolis police officers accused in the death of George Floyd tearfully testified Monday that he tried to help paramedics after realizing Floyd had no pulse.
Thomas Lane, testifying in his own defense in a federal courtroom in St. Paul, Minn., broke down in tears as testified about seeing Floyd’s face for the first time after he had been pinned to the ground for more than 9 minutes, the Minneapolis Star Tribune and NBC News reported.
Lane, 38, said Floyd “didn’t look good” when he was turned over and that he performed chest compressions as paramedics arrived, even offering to ride with them to the hospital.
“I felt with the situation, they might need a hand,” the former rookie officer said under questioning from defense attorney Earl Grey as testimony continued in the civil rights trial.
Lane, along with former Minneapolis officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, are charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights during his arrest and death in May 2020. Lane is the third and last of the three accused officers to testify in U.S. District Court.
Another former Minneapolis officer, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of two counts of murder and one of manslaughter in Floyd’s death last April. Chauvin was found guilty of keeping his knee pressed to the back of Floyd’s neck for almost 10 minutes, resulting in his death.
During Lane’s testimony, Grey led him through a detailed account of the encounter, including the final moments of the restraint when he said he suggested to Chauvin that Floyd be rolled onto his side.
Lane said Chauvin responded, “Nope, we’re good like this.”
During cross-examination by federal prosecutor Samantha Trepel, Lane said he wanted to roll Floyd over to side because he “wanted to be able to get a better assessment.”
Kueng testified last week that a struggle to force Floyd into a police vehicle at the start of the arrest was the most difficult he had ever faced, adding that Floyd’ face was slammed into the plexiglass barrier separating the back and front of the police car during the incident.
He and Thao are also charged with failure to intervene while Chauvin was using unreasonable force against Floyd.
The month-old trial is expected to proceed to closing arguments on Tuesday after which the 12-member jury will begin deliberations.
