Three former police officers who killed George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 have all been found guilty of federal civil rights violation charges by a jury today.
Former Minneapolis police officers Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were found guilty of violating George Floyd's civil rights by a federal jury in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Thursday.
The 12 jurors -- four men and eight women -- found Lane, Kueng and Thao guilty of depriving Floyd of his civil rights by showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs as former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd for more than 9 minutes on May 25, 2020 -- ultimately killing him. The jurors also found Thao and Kueng guilty of an additional charge for failing to intervene to stop Chauvin. Lane, who did not face the extra charge, testified that he asked Chauvin twice to reposition Floyd while restraining him but was denied both times.
Violating a person's civil rights "is punishable by a range of imprisonment up to a life term, or the death penalty, depending upon the circumstances of the crime, and the resulting injury, if any," according to the Department of Justice. Federal sentencing guidelines suggest the officers could receive a lesser sentence.
The fourth officer, Derek Chauvin, was found guilty by a state court and pleaded guilty to federal civil rights violation charged as part of his plea deal. The three other officers still face a state aiding and abetting trial later this year.
Black Lives Still Matter.
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