Opening arguments to begin in Minneapolis cop's abuse of force, perjury trial

Opening statements in the federal trial of Michael Griffin, a Minneapolis police officer charged with assaulting four men in separate incidents and then lying about what happened in police reports, are expected to begin Tuesday.

On Monday, prosecution and defense attorneys selected 14 jurors, including two alternates, to hear the case against Griffin, once considered a rising star in the department.

Griffin faces nine counts in an indictment that charges him with depriving the men of their civil rights, falsifying reports and committing perjury in testimony in two brutality lawsuits filed against him. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Griffin, most recently a patrolman on the city's North Side who has been the subject of 22 complaints, is black. Only one of the complaints was sustained.

Griffin said little at the morning portion of the trial, speaking only to introduce himself to potential jurors.

Griffin remains on home assignment after being relieved of duty, said department spokesman Scott Seroka.

The trial is expected to resume at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The allegations are among the most serious federal charges brought against Minneapolis police officers in recent years.

In court filings, prosecutors have cast Griffin as a rogue cop who lied in police reports and to federal investigators to cover up his bad acts. Griffin's attorneys insist that depiction is inaccurate and that the men he is accused of attacking were, in fact, the antagonists in those encounters.

In a pretrial motion ruling, the judge said that the prosecution could only refer to the men as "victims" in their opening and closing statements, but not while questioning witnesses on the stand.

The trial is expected to last 10 days.