Ex-Minneapolis Police Officer Guilty Of Abetting Manslaughter In George Floyd’s Killing

Hennepin County Court Judge Peter Cahill ruled Thao “actively encouraged” three former police officers’ “dangerous prone restraint” during Floyd’s arrest, and “made a conscious decision to actively participate in Floyd’s death,” according to court documents.

Video footage released after Floyd’s death showed Thao, who previously waived his right to a trial by jury, holding back bystanders and failing to intervene as former officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knees into Floyd’s neck and back for more than nine minutes as Floyd yelled: “I can’t breathe”—Thao previously testified he believed the other officers were “taking care of” Floyd and that he was merely responsible for crowd control.

The ruling against Thao is the latest in a series of charges against a group of four officers, including Thao and Chauvin, as well as J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, who also pleaded guilty last May to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and received a three-year prison sentence.

Chauvin, who was fired from the department after video surfaced of Floyd’s arrest, was convicted of murder in Minnesota in April 2021 and sentenced to more than 22 years in prison—he was later sentenced last July to 20 years by a federal court for violating Floyd’s civil rights (Chauvin’s state conviction was upheld last month after he requested a new trial).

Kueng, Lane and Thao, meanwhile, were all found guilty of violating Floyd’s civil rights in a separate federal case for depriving Floyd of his constitutional right to liberty without due process, after Floyd was arrested for attempting to use counterfeit money to make a purchase at a convenience store.

That federal indictment also said Chauvin violated Floyd’s constitutional rights by using “unreasonable force” that resulted in injury and death, and that Thao and Kueng “willfully failed” to stop Chauvin from using unreasonable force (all four officers initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, though Chauvin later reversed his plea to guilty).

In July, federal District Court Judge Paul Manguson sentenced Kueng and Thao to three and three and a half years in prison, respectively, after both officers were found guilty on the civil rights charges five months earlier.

Lane, who held Floyd’s legs as Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s back, received two and a half years for violating Floyd’s civil rights.