Judge postpones trial for 3 ex-cops co-accused in George Floyd's death

Street art memorials of George Floyd by Shane Grammer and NBA player Kobe Bryant by Gustavo Zermeño Jr. are seen at Sportie LA on Melrose Avenue on June 08, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. /Getty Images

The trial of three former Minneapolis police officers who are charged with aiding and abetting in the death of George Floyd has been postponed to March 2020 to first allow a federal case against the three to proceed, a judge ruled on Thursday.

Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao were scheduled to face trial Aug. 23 on charges they aided and abetted both murder and manslaughter.

A Minneapolis jury last month convicted the three officers' co-defendant, Derek Chauvin, of second-degree murder and third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, after hearing evidence such as the one which shows he put his knee on Floyd's neck for over nine minutes.

News of the postponement of the trial against Lane, J. Kueng and Thao came during a hearing on pretrial motions. AP reports that the defense attorneys for all three agreed to the postponement.

The trial of the three former police officers was separated from Chauvin's to comply with COVID-19 courtroom spacing restrictions.

(With input from agencies)