The trial of the three former officers in the George Floyd case has been suspended until 2022.
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill postponed the trial on Thursday (May 13) to allow the federal case against the three ex-Minneapolis cops - along with Derek Chauvin - to take place first.
J Alexander Keung, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao were indicated by a federal grand jury last Friday (May 7) under the allegation that they violated Floyd's civil rights on May 25 last year.
According to a press pool report cited by the Metro, Cahill said: "Bottom line, we're not going to trial in August. We need space."
Their original trial was due to begin on August 23, but it has now been rescheduled to March of 2022, AP reports.
The judge's decision was met with agreement from the two men's defense attorneys, although it's not known exactly who asked for the date of the trial to be changed.
State prosecutors wanted the August trial date to remain in place, but the judge acknowledged the defendant's worries that, at this time, they would not receive a fair trial.
Keung, 27, and Lane, 38, were the first officers to arrive at the store where Floyd had allegedly attempted to use a counterfeit bill, and they were later joined by Thao, 35, and Chauvin, 45.
Kueng and Thao are accused of failing to stop Chauvin from kneeling on Floyd's neck and with "deliberate indifference" for failing to provide medical assistance even after he said he couldn't breathe.
News of the trial's suspension comes after the judge who presided over Derek Chauvin's trial ruled that he acted with"particular cruelty" in the way he treated George Floyd.
As per the Wall Street Journal, Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill ruled on Wednesday, May 12, that there were various aggravating factors in the case, enabling him to bestow a harsher sentence on Chauvin.
He explained that he is "beyond a reasonable doubt" that Chauvin "abused his position of authority".
Chauvin's defense attorney, Eric Nelson, CNN reports, had argued that there were no aggravating factors in the case.
The former police officer was found guilty last month of three counts of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
He will be sentenced on June 25.