Following Derek Chauvin’s conviction, three other Minneapolis police officers are awaiting trial

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin has been convicted on all charges, but that is not the end of the prosecution for George Floyd’s death. Cases are underway against three other officers involved in the fatal arrest.

The three officers – Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane – each face two charges: aiding and abetting second-degree murder, which imposed a maximum sentence of 40 years, although Reuters reports that the sentence guidelines are up to 15 years. reduce; and assistance to second-degree manslaughter, which imposed a maximum sentence of ten years.

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L to R: Former Minneapolis police officers Tou Thao, Derek Chauvin, J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane are seen on arrest photos.

Hennepin County Jail


After a jury found Chauvin guilty on Tuesday of all three count he faced the death of George Floyd – second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter – Ben Crump, the lawyer for Floyd’s family, calls the case ‘a turning point in American history for liability in law enforcement. “Prosecutors will then file their case against the three other officers, whose joint trial is set to begin on August 23.

All three were released from prison after posting a $ 750,000 bond. All of the officers were fired from the Minneapolis police station a few days after Floyd’s death.

Lane, then 37, and Keung, 26, were the first to approach Floyd as he sat in his car after receiving a call about a man allegedly carrying a $ 20 counterfeit account use. Lane approached on the driver ‘s side, where Floyd was sitting, and while they were talking, he pulled out his rifle and pointed it at Floyd’s window until Floyd put his hands on the steering wheel. Lane then put his gun in his holster, prosecutors said.

Lane ordered Floyd to leave his car and handcuffed him, saying he had been arrested for possession of counterfeit money. Prosecutors said that after Keung and Lane tried to walk Floyd to their police car, he stiffened and fell to the ground, saying he did not resist, but that he did not want to climb into the back seat of the car and that he is claustrophobic.

Prosecutors at the time said officers Chauvin and Thao showed up.

Chauvin, then 44, was the oldest of the four officers and had been in the police force for nearly 20 years. Thao, then 34, rejoined the force in 2012 after being sacked in 2009 as a rookie. He was previously the subject of an excessive lawsuit, for which the victim received a $ 25,000 settlement.

The officers made several attempts to get Floyd into a police car as Floyd, whose hands were handcuffed behind his back, repeatedly told them he could not breathe.

Chauvin pulls Floyd to the ground in a scene that has been seen millions of times since cell phone video caught by teen Darnella Frazier. While Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck, Kueng held Floyd’s back and Lane held his legs.

Floyd repeatedly said, “I can’t breathe,” and called his mother.

Thao watched as the other three officers restrained Floyd. Prosecutors say he became concerned about the number of bystanders who gathered and stood between officers and civilians. When a bystander stepped off the curb and asked Chauvin to get off Floyd, prosecutors said Thao “laid his hands on the citizen to hold him back.”

One of the bystanders, Donald Williams, took a stand during the first day of Chauvin’s trial and testified that Thao then ordered bystanders to stay back, telling them, “This is what drugs do to you.”

Williams said Thao “controlled the people – he controlled me”, adding: “He was the man who let it go while it went on.”

Prosecutors also said that at one point, Lane restrained Floyd’s legs: “Should we roll him on his side?” Chauvin replies, “No, stay where we find him.”

Lane said, “I’m worried about excited delirium or whatever,” referring to a controversial phrase often quoted by police and paramedics to describe a condition sometimes associated with drug use. Chauvin replies, “That’s why we have him on his stomach.”

Prosecutors said about 8 minutes and 24 seconds after the video, Floyd stopped moving. Lane asks, “Do you want him on his side role?” Keung looks at Floyd’s wrist for a pulse and says, “I could not find one.”

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