Judge Peter Cahill reinstated a third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin in George Floyd's death Thursday and five jurors were already seated for what's projected to be a long and arduous trial.
But what do we know so far about the people who will decide if ex-officer Chauvin goes to prison for kneeling on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes while he begged for his life and said he couldn't breathe?
Here's what we know:
The five jurors chosen so far include four men and one woman and they were picked after being asked questions about whether they had seen the now-infamous footage of Chauvin restraining Floyd. They were also quizzed about their perception of police officers and groups including Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives matter.
"Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill and lawyers over the week have asked potential jurors about their previous knowledge of the case, whether they've seen it on the news and how they responded to a 13-page questionnaire," according to usatoday.com.
As for the jurors themselves:
1st Juror
He's a young man who works as a chemist and is passionate about his work and is very logical. Reporters on the scene said he didn't look at Chauvin at all, even when asked about his perspective on the officer.
Chauvin looked down at his notepad throughout the questioning, glancing up only occasionally to take in the juror.
2nd Juror
The lone female juror was praised for her "insightful answers" to her juror questionnaire and when asked if she would be available for the entire trial she said she could set everything else aside because "this is more important."
Nelson asked her how she felt a decision would affect the victim’s family, and she responded, “they can be hurt.” Shareeduh Tate – Floyd’s first cousin, was sitting in the back of the courtroom. Chauvin jotted notes throughout her questioning.
She said her uncle is a police officer, but having a family member as officer wouldn’t affect her impartiality. And when she was chosen, she said one word: "awesome."
3rd Juror
She was followed into the pool of jurors chosen by a man in his 30s or 40s who said he did have "some knowledge" of the case.
This juror, who is a father, said he has wedding plans May 1 in Florida, but said he would make an accomodation to be on the jury. “That’s me answering, not my fiancé,” he said, drawing laughs from the lawyers.
During questioning, he added that he had seen the video of George Floyd's deadly arrest on Facebook 2-3 times, once in its entirety, and then had seen clips of it.
He said on the questionnaire that “Floyd seemed under the influence and somewhat unruly” and explained “when I see someone in handcuffs they're in handcuffs for a reason.”
Floyd's Aunt Kathleen McGee has her arms crossed over her chest while watching the questioning.
4th Juror
The fourth juror is Vikings season ticket holder who was asked about players taking a knee. He said "they can do what they want," and added that "law enforcement and military defend our country for the right to believe what you want to believe."
He said in a trial he would agree police officer is more trained to observe situation and likely better at sharing that testimony as fact based, where other witness more emotional based
All things being equal, he said he would favor a law enforcement officer's account over another person's, but during trial would be able to assess each person on their own. He said he had a very favorable opinion of Black Lives Matter, and didn't know why anyone would be against that movement
"People today don’t give respect to police they deserve, it's easy to say all police are bad, I don’t agree," he said, under questioning, before he was chosen.
5th Juror
This juror is a Black man in his 30’s or 40’s, who moved to Minnesota in 2012, and works in IT. He's married, no kids, has a dog, and said he was surprised and anxious about being a juror.
He said he doesn’t know the facts of this case, but has seen some of the video and had conversations with friends and wife about it. “(We) talked about how it could have been me or anyone else,” he said.
On his questionnaire, he said he has “somewhat negative” opinion of Chauvin, but “wasn’t there before the event.”
He said he believed people have the right to protest but is also concerned that businesses have shut down. He said all lives matter but black lives matter more because they are marginalized. Blue lives matter because cops need to feel safe to protect our community, he said.
