Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is seeking a new trial, arguing that the national fervor surrounding George Floyd’s death facilitated prosecutorial misconduct and bogus testimony that led to the ex-cop’s murder conviction.
Chauvin’s petition for postconviction relief claimed state prosecutors ignored autopsy records detailing Floyd’s cause of death, and instead had medical expert witnesses reference video of Chauvin’s knee-to-neck restraint to determine that Floyd died of asphyxiation.
The filing also said police witnesses lied on the stand about department policy regarding the restraint methods Chauvin used…