One of the ex-Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd, Thomas Lane, is apparently seeking help to fund his defense.
Chauvin was arrested first, quickly after the video went viral. From there, as protests erupted (and continue in their second week) across the country, the three other officers were also handed down arrest warrants, and now remain locked up on $1 million bail, while Chauvin’s bail has been set at $1.25 million.
Lane, alongside his two former colleagues Thao and Kueng, were charged with aiding and abetting in Floyd’s death. Lane and Kueng have both attempted to wash their hands of the charge, by casting blame solely on Chauvin.
Last night, Lane’s lawyer, Earl Gray, did an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo where he used a similar method of deflecting the blame from his client– by casting the blame on those civilians who witnessed the whole murder unfold. Yes, Gray actually said: “If the public is there and they’re so in an uproar about this, they didn’t intercede either.”
Now, TMZ has reported that Lane is actually asking for the public to help fund his defense. It seems unbelievable, but reportedly Lane and his family have set up a website, where they’re soliciting donations. The website attempts to make a case for Lane’s defense as well, bringing up several points that Gray also iterated in last night’s interview. Things like: Lane was the one who suggested they roll Floyd over on his side (but they didn’t), as well as the fact that Lane called the ambulance for Floyd, and attempted to perform CPR on him when the ambulance arrived.
Ultimately, Lane says that he did everything that the chain of command allowed him to do.
What do you think of this latest development?
