Ex-cops Kueng, Thao sentenced for violating George Floyd’s rights
ST. PAUL, MINN. » A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced two former Minneapolis police officers who were convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights to lighter terms than recommended in sentencing guidelines, calling one “truly a rookie officer” and describing the other as “a good police officer, father and husband.”
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sentenced J. Alexander Kueng to three years in prison and Tou Thao to 3½ years for violating Floyd’s rights in the May 25, 2020, killing in which then-officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd’s neck with his knee for more than nine minutes as the 46-year-old Black man said he couldn’t breathe and eventually grew still. The killing, captured in bystander video, sparked protests worldwide and a reckoning of racial injustice.
Kueng pinned Floyd’s back, Thao held back concerned bystanders, and a fourth officer, Thomas Lane, held Floyd’s feet. Lane was sentenced last week to two years — also below guidelines and a sentence that Floyd’s brother Philonise called “insulting” — while Chauvin was sentenced earlier to 21 years. Floyd’s immediate family members did not attend Wednesday’s hearings or comment immediately afterward.
The lower sentences for Kueng, who is Black, and Thao, who is Hmong American, raise questions about whether they would consider a plea deal or risk a state court trial on Oct. 24, when they face counts of aiding and abetting seconddegree murder and seconddegree manslaughter. Lane, who is white, pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing in that case.
Sentencing guidelines on the federal counts called for 4¼ to 5¼ years for Kueng and 5 ¼ to 6 ½ years for Thao.
For both men, prosecutors argued for sentences within that range or longer, arguing in Kueng’s case that he “didn’t say a word” as Floyd lay dying.
They also disputed that Thao’s role was minor, with prosecutor Leeann Bell saying he had “a bird’s-eye view of what was going on” with Floyd pinned to the pavement, and had “years on the force” that meant he should have known better.
She said Thao sometimes looked directly at Floyd and at times had bystanders telling him exactly what was happening.