Judge Peter Cahill, who presided over the case, expressed intense frustration with the commentary, saying in court he “wished public officials would stop talking about this case.” He criticized Waters’ comments as “disrespectful to the rule of law.” But Cahill rejected a defense motion for a mistrial.
Shapiro claims these comments, along with news of a record settlement to Floyd‘s family while jurors were being seated, contributed to undue influence on the verdict. Jurors have rejected the notion they were intimidated into the decision. In a joint interview with CNN, a panel of jurors described how they carefully weighed the evidence and testimony and reached a verdict free of outside influence, pushing back on “misconceptions.”
“It wasn’t an easy task,” said one juror. “We took this very seriously.”
“I just want the truth out,” said another. “People are saying we were pressured to give that verdict that day. Like, there was pressure on us to convict. Which was not true. We went through everything … before we made our decision.”
“Fall of Minneapolis” repeatedly draws attention to Kueng’s race as a Black man, with Collin asking why this is “rarely ever mentioned,” while “practically everyone” focuses on Chauvin being white. Kueng notes in the movie that one of the other officers on scene, Tou Thao, is Asian, meaning half of those charged in the case were not white. “I think that was something they just didn’t want to admit,” says Kueng. “Specifically my race — because, again, it goes really counterintuitive to the way the narrative goes. They couldn’t backpedal.”