A judge on Wednesday dismissed two jurors who had been seated for the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer accused in George Floyd’s death over concerns they had been tainted by the city’s announcement of a $27 million settlement with Floyd’s family. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill recalled seven jurors who were seated before the settlement was announced last week, and questioned each about what they knew of the settlement and whether it would affect their ability to serve. Former officer Derek Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, had requested the recall. The dismissal of only two jurors suggested the impact of the settlement on the jury pool was less than feared, likely reducing the chance of Cahill granting a defense request to delay the trial. Cahill was careful to ask jurors if they had heard the news of the settlement without giving details, saying only that there had been “extensive media coverage about developments in a civil suit between the city of Minneapolis and the family of George Floyd” and asking if they were exposed to it. The first dismissed juror, a white man in his 30s, said he had heard about the settlement. “I think it will be hard to be impartial,” he said. “That sticker price obviously shocked me,” the second juror dismissed said. The Hispanic man in his 20s said he thought he could set the news aside, but wasn’t sure, and after a long pause, Cahill dismissed him. Cahill retained five other jurors, including a Black man in his 30s who told Cahill he heard about the settlement on the radio Friday evening but could put it aside and decide the case only on evidence presented in the courtroom. “It hasn’t affected me at all because I don’t know the details,” he said. Jury selection had been proceeding faster than expected, with opening statements tentatively expected March 29 at the earliest, but the two dismissals could imperil that start date. Nine people had been selected for the jury before Wednesday’s dismissals; 14 are needed. Nelson called the timing of the announcement in the middle of jury selection “profoundly disturbing” and “not fair.” Seven jurors remain, including four men and three women. Four are white, one is multiracial and two are Black, and their ages range from 20s to 50s. Fourteen people, including two alternates, are needed. As questioning of potential jurors resumed Wednesday morning, three were excused, including a man who said he would tend to believe a police officer’s version of events over that of a citizen, and a Black man who expressed negative views about the Minneapolis Police Department. He said Floyd was an example of another Black man “killed” or “murdered” by police. He said he used to live in the area near Floyd’s arrest and had seen Minneapolis police sometimes ride through the area and antagonize residents if someone had been shot or jailed. On the possibility of serving on the jury, he said: “Me, as a Black man, you see a lot of Black people get killed and no one is held accountable for it, and you wonder why. … So with this, maybe I’ll be in the room to know why.” A third potential juror, a man who said he is white and lives in the area where Floyd was […]

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