Former Minnesota cop pleads guilty in death of George Floyd

A fired police officer involved in the death of George Floyd pleaded guilty to a state charge in Minnesota on Monday.

J. Alexander Kueng, who knelt on Floyd’s back during the fatal 2020 encounter in Minneapolis, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, which carries a 3½-year prison sentence.

Prosecutors said they would drop an aiding and abetting second-degree murder against Kueng in the plea deal.

Kueng was previously convicted on federal charges in the death of Floyd, an unarmed Black man, who died after another ex-officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.

J. Alexander Kueng

Chauvin, who is white, was convicted on state charges of murder and manslaughter and given a 22½-year sentence. He was sentenced to 21 years behind bars in July on federal charges.

The guilty plea by Kueng, who is Black, comes a month after fellow ex-officer Thomas Lane was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Lane, who is white, held down Floyd’s legs.

Kueng had previously rejected a plea deal in August.

Former Minneapolis cop Thomas Lane sentenced to 3 years in killing of George Floyd

George Floyd

A fourth officer who was fired following Floyd’s death, Tou Thao, also rejected a plea deal in August after receiving state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

“It would be lying for me to accept any plea offer,” Thao, who is Hmong American, said at the time.

Thao agreed Monday to move forward with a trial by stipulated evidence, through which he will forgo a jury trial while accepting evidence against him.

Former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao, left, and his attorney, Robert Paule, arrive for sentencing for violating George Floyd's civil rights outside the Federal Courthouse on July 27, 2022, in St. Paul, Minn. (David Joles/)

Under that agreement, Thao would likely face four years in prison if convicted on the aiding and abetting manslaughter charge, while the aiding and abetting murder charge would be dropped. It will be up to Judge Peter Cahill to rule on an outcome for Thao after materials such as the evidence being used are submitted by Nov. 17.

Thao is accused of stopping people in the area from intervening as the other officers held down Floyd, whose death led to protests against social injustice and police brutality in the United States and beyond.

Like Kueng, Thao and Lane were convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights in a federal trial.

With News Wire Services