Three former Minneapolis cops were found guilty of violating George Floyd’s civil rights in a federal trial Thursday when they failed to intervene as Derek Chauvin fatally leaned on FloydR…
nypost.com
Three former Minneapolis cops found guilty of violating George Floyd’s civil rights
By
Ben Kesslen
February 24, 2022 5:26pm
Updated
Former Minneapolis police officers J. Kueng, Tou Thao and Thomas Lane were found guilty in the case. Hennepin County Sheriff's Office
Three former Minneapolis cops were found guilty of violating George Floyd’s civil rights in a federal trial Thursday when they failed to intervene as Derek Chauvin fatally leaned on Floyd’s neck for almost 10 minutes.
Former Officers Tou Thao, Thomas Lane, and J Kueng were charged with depriving Floyd of his civil rights for not providing Floyd medical care during the May 25, 2020 fatal arrest.
Kueng, who is black, knelt on Floyd’s back; Lane, who is white, restrained his legs; and Thao, who is Hmong American, stopped concerned citizens from intervening as Floyd, 46, struggled to breathe and begged for his life.
The three former cops could face up to life in prison and will remain free on bond until their sentencing. No date has been set for that.
Sixteen of the 18 people selected as jurors and alternates in the case appeared to be white, while the other two appeared to be Asian. Federal court officials declined to release the demographic of the panel.Judge Paul Magnuson insisted that religion, race and ethnicity had “absolutely nothing” to do with the high-profile case. Magnuson also ordered the names of the jurors to be sealed for the next decade.
Throughout the trial, prosecutors worked to show the cops’ indifference to Floyd’s suffering, highlighting their failure to provide him CPR. Bystanders were begging the officers to check Floyd’s breathing, yet the trio who had training in how to respond in these situations did nothing, prosecutors said.
To win, prosecutors had to prove that Lane, Thao and Kueng willfully deprived Floyd of his constitutional rights, which the jurors ultimately agreed they did.
Then Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is seen kneeling on George Floyd’s neck.Facebook/Darnella Frazier/AFP vi
Body camera footage shows then officer J. Kueng arresting George Floyd.
The defense largely argued the trio received poor training from the Minneapolis PD and that Chauvin, who was the more senior responding officer, was leading the response.
In its closing argument, the prosecution said the three officers “chose to do nothing” as they watched Floyd die.
The defense insisted their clients were clearly concerned about Floyd, and at times during the trial called Floyd’s death a tragedy but maintained the three officers committed no crimes. Lawyers for Lane and Kueng, both of whom were rookies, said their clients never should have been charged in the first place. All three officers had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Footage of the deadly encounter shot by bystander Darnella Frazier set off an international reckoning against racial injustice in law enforcement. Chauvin, who was convicted of murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death, was sentenced to 22 ½ years in prison in June. The former cop is also awaiting a separate sentencing after pleading guilty to violating Floyd’s civil rights in December.
“These officers tried to devise any excuse that could let them wash the blood from their hands, but following these verdicts George’s blood will forever stain them,” Ben Crump, the attorney representing the Floyd family, said in a statement following the verdict.
The officers found guilty on Thursday have yet to stand trial in state court on charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
George Floyd memorial vandalized in NYC.Hakim Gibson
The statue was previously defaced days after it was first unveiled on Juneteenth.Hakim Gibson
Photos show what appears to be paint covering the statue.Hakim Gibson
