Last two ex-cops in George Floyd’s killing sentenced to 3-plus years on civil rights charges
Two of the three former Minneapolis police officers on hand when ex-cop Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd were sentenced on Wednesday for violating his civil rights during his fatal arrest.
In separate hearings, J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Tao Thao, 36, were sentenced to three and 3½ years in prison, respectively, for failing to intervene and for depriving Floyd of medical care. Kueng pinned the 46-year-old Black man’s back while Thao fended off bystanders who objected as Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9½ minutes.
They and former colleague Thomas Lane were convicted in February on the same charges. Lane received 2½ years last week on the federal charges for holding Floyd’s feet and legs while he struggled and begged for air. The sentences mean that all four officers who were involved in Floyd’s May 2020 death have received prison time.
But all received terms less than sentencing guidelines.
This combo of June 3, 2020 file photos provided by the Hennepin County, Minn., Sheriff's Office, shows, from left, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao.
“All four officers involved in the tragic death of George Floyd have now been convicted in federal court, sentenced to prison and held accountable for their crimes,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a statement. “George Floyd’s death could have been prevented if these defendants had carried out their affirmative duty to intervene to stop another officer’s use of deadly force.”
The killing, caught on video by a bystander with a phone, gripped the world and sparked widespread protests and a racial reckoning. Floyd had originally been collared on suspicion of passing a counterfeit $20 bill. He was thought to be on drugs at the time, a factor that the officers said misled them into not understanding he needed medical care.
Lane has pleaded guilty to the state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, while Kueng and Thao are set to stand trial on Oct. 24 for aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Lane is serving both sentences concurrently in a federal prison as part of the plea deal. Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in state court and is serving 22½ years concurrently with 20 years for his own federal civil rights conviction.
Kueng is Black, Thao is Hmong American, and Lane is white.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson invoked the ex-cops’ less-experienced status and what he said was their lower level of culpability for giving them less than the federally recommended minimums. Chauvin was a 19-year-veteran of the force and in charge of the scene. Thao, Chauvin’s partner, had been on the force for nine years, and the other two were rookies.
Under the federally recommended minimum, Keung would have received at least 4¼ to 5¼ years and Thao would have been sentenced to between 5¼ and 6½ years.
Keung declined to address the court, but Thao rambled on for more than 20 minutes, citing Bible verses and saying the time he had already served in jail had helped turn him toward God. He did not address the Floyd family directly or offer them any words of apology.
Both officers remain free on bond and, like Lane, must report to U.S. Marshals by Oct. 4.
With News Wire Services
