J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, two of the former Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd‘s death, were sentenced to prison on federal civil rights charges. Kueng was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Thao was given 3.5 years behind bars.
Kueng and Thao were convicted back in February … remember, Kueng helped hold Floyd down as Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd for nearly 9 1/2 minutes, while Thao was on crowd control behind the police vehicle.
As we reported, Kueng and Thao were found guilty of all the charges against them … including deprivation of rights under color of the law for failing to render medical aid to Floyd, plus failing to intervene in Chauvin’s use of unreasonable force.
Facebook/ Darnella Frazier
Kueng and Thao argued they didn’t intend for Floyd to die under the circumstances and were deferring to Chauvin’s seniority and experience in the situation.
You’ll recall … Chauvin has already been sentenced to 21 years in prison for Floyd’s death and the other officer convicted, Thomas Lane, was recently sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison. Both Kueng and Thao are still facing state charges in connection with Floyd’s death.