US policeman convicted in the murder of George Floyd for dispersing the crowd
Floyd’s passing in May 2020 spurred demonstrations against racial injustice and police violence all across the US.
A jury has found guilty of manslaughter the final of four former Minneapolis police officers charged in George Floyd’s death.
Thao chose to have a judge hear his case rather than a jury. He was found guilty by Cahill on Monday, and the verdict was made public on Tuesday.
Derek Chauvin, a 19-year member of the Minneapolis police department, was seen in a viral video kneeling on Floyd’s neck for about ten minutes before Floyd passed away.
Floyd, who was detained and lying face down on the ground complaining that he couldn’t breathe, was restrained by two additional officers as Thao kept the throng at bay.
According to the judge, Thao could “see Floyd’s life slowly ebbing away as the restraint continued.”
“Yet Thao made a conscious choice to actively participate in Floyd’s death: he refrained from helping the concerned onlookers and even stopped a Minneapolis firefighter who was not on duty from giving Floyd the life-saving care he so desperately needed.”
Floyd’s passing in May 2020 spurred demonstrations against racial injustice and police violence all across the US.
In April 2021, Chauvin, a white man, was found guilty of murder and given a 22-and-a-half-year prison term.
Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, the other two cops who restrained Floyd, entered guilty pleas to second-degree manslaughter, the same allegation brought against Thao.
While Kueng received a 42-month prison term, Lane received a 36-month sentence.
On August 7, Thao was scheduled to be sentenced.
In addition, Floyd’s civil rights were reportedly violated during his arrest for allegedly using a fake $20 bill by Chauvin, Lane, Kueng, and Thao, who were all found guilty on federal counts.
Attorney General of Minnesota Keith Ellison described Thao’s conviction as “historic and the right outcome.”
It adds yet another level of accountability to George Floyd’s tragic death, according to a statement from Ellison. “Accountability is a step towards justice, not justice itself,”
