Tou Thao, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were convicted of denying George Floyd his civil rights.
Three ex-Minneapolis policemen present at the death of George Floyd denied the unarmed black man of his civil rights, a jury has found.
The officers were charged with showing “deliberate indifference to [Mr Floyd’s] serious medical needs” during the attempted arrest in May 2020.
Tou Thao, 36, J Alexander Kueng, 28, and Thomas Lane, 38, all testified in their own defence in the trial.
They said they did not realise Floyd needed medical care at the time.
Violating a person’s civil rights carries various punishments. Prosecutors have recommended 25 years in federal prison for each man.
Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, is currently serving a 22-and-a-half-year sentence.
Chauvin was found guilty of Floyd’s murder last April. He also pleaded guilty in December to his own federal civil rights charges as part of a plea agreement.
Video footage of the arrest shows Keung and Lane assisting Chauvin by helping to hold Floyd down. Thao meanwhile kept concerned bystanders away from Floyd.
A 12-person jury deliberated for about 13 hours before returning their verdict on Thursday.
In June, the trio of defendants will be back, this time in state court, to face criminal charges for aiding and abetting Chauvin’s actions.
- 21 April 2021
