MINNEAPOLIS • A jury has been seated for the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer in George Floyd’s death, with opening statements set for Monday in a case that led to weeks of protests and a national soul-searching about racial justice.

The final juror was chosen Tuesday, wrapping up a process that took more than two weeks and was complicated by worldwide attention to Floyd’s death, even before the city of Minneapolis announced a $27 million settlement to his family during the fourth day of jury selection.

Attorneys and the judge worked through more than 100 people, dismissing most because they acknowledged strong views about an encounter that was captured on bystander video.

The panel now includes 15 jurors. Twelve will deliberate, with two alternates; Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill has said he will excuse the extra juror when opening statements begin on Monday if the 14 others still are able to serve.

Derek Chauvin is charged with murder and manslaughter in the May 25 death of Floyd. The Black man was declared dead after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against his neck for about nine minutes while he was handcuffed and pleading that he couldn’t breathe. The widely seen video set off street protests in Minneapolis, some violent, that spread across the U.S. and the world.

The final juror chosen, a white man in his 20s, is a married accountant who said he had a somewhat negative opinion of Chauvin. But he said he would be able to put that aside and weigh the case based on the evidence.

Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, defendant and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, and Nelson’s assistant Amy Voss, back, in court Tuesday in Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis.

the Associated press