The criminal complaints against former Minneapolis police officers Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng and Tou Thao all state that “at 8:19:38 . . . Mr. Floyd went to the ground face down and still handcuffedd. Kueng held Mr. Floyd’s back and Lane held his legs. [Chauvin] placed his left knee in the area of Mr. Floyd’s head and neck.” Those same complaints also state, “At 8:27:24 [Chauvin] removed his knee from Mr. Floyd’s neck.” (Emphases added.) [1]
Those same complaints later state, “[Chauvin] had his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in total.” (Emphasis added.)
Chuck Laszewski, the Hennepin County Media Coordinator, on June 18, stated that the 8:19:38 and 8:27:24 times for the beginning and ending of the restraint were correct, but that the total time of restraint was 7 minutes and 46 seconds, not 8 minutes and 46 seconds.[2] This is shown by the following table:
| Clock | Minutes | Seconds |
| 08:19:38—08:19:60 | 0 | 22 |
| 08:20:00—08:20:60 | 1 | 0 |
| 08:21:00—08:21:60 | 1 | 0 |
| 08:22:00—08:22:60 | 1 | 0 |
| 08:23:00—08:23:60 | 1 | 0 |
| 08:24:00—08:24:60 | 1 | 0 |
| 08:25:00—08:25:60 | 1 | 0 |
| 08:26:00—08:26:60 | 1 | 0 |
| 08:27:00—08:27:24 | 0 | 24 |
| TOTAL | 7 | 46 |
“These kinds of technical matters can be handled in future amendments to the criminal complaint if other reasons make it necessary to amend the complaint between now and any trials,” said Laszewski. He also said “the one-minute error made no difference to charge nor in the continuing legal hearings.”
Even this revised timing of the restraint on Floyd has been questioned. The New York Times reports that other videotapes of this horrible crime “show that . . . [Chaurvin] continued to hold his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck for more than a minute after the ambulance arrrived” and that Chauvin’s knee was on Mr. Floyd’s neck “for at least eight minutes and 15 seconds.”[3]
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[1] What Happened to George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, dwkcommentareis.com (June 5, 2020); The Criminal Complaints Against the Other Three Policemen Involved in George Floyd’s Death, dwkcommentaries.com (June 14, 2020).
[2] Walsh, 7 minutes, 46 seconds: Error in George Floyd killing timeline won’t affect charges, county says, StarTribune (June 18, 2020).
[3] Bogel-Burroughs, 8 Minutes, 46 Seconds Became a Symbol in George Floyd’s Death, The Exact Time Is Less Clear, N.Y. times (June 18, 2020).
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