Murder of George Floyd: 3 years in prison for two policemen
Two former Minneapolis police officers will face a minimum of three years for their role in the death of George Floyd in the United States.
Former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were sentenced to several years in prison after being convicted of federal charges related to the death of George Floyd, ABC News reports.
Kueng and Thao, along with Thomas Lane, were all convicted of depriving Floyd of medical care while Derek Chauvin murdered Floyd by kneeling on his back for more than nine minutes. Thao and Kueng were also found guilty on other counts of failing to intervene against Chauvin. Lane was spared this charge and testified that he had tried twice, but to no avail, to have Chauvin reposition Floyd.
Kueng, who was new to the police at the time of Floyd’s murder, was sentenced to three years in federal prison, with two years of probation. At a separate hearing, Thao, who had worked for the Minneapolis police for nine years, was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, plus two years of probation.
Thao and Kueng’s sentences came a week after Lane was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Although Lane was also convicted on federal charges, he ended up pleading guilty to state charges of complicity in second degree manslaughter. Under the plea agreement, he will be allowed to serve federal and state sentences simultaneously in a federal institution.
Thao and Kueng are yet to be tried on charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter and murder. The trial was originally scheduled to begin in June, but the judge in charge of the case decided to postpone it until January 2023. This decision was made in light of Lane’s plea agreement and the February federal convictions, as the judge felt that these events (and the publicity surrounding them) could make it difficult for a jury to approach the case fairly.
