MINNEAPOLIS — The former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s back as another cop kneeled on his neck was sentenced to three and a half years in jail on Friday.
In October, J. Alexander Kueng pled guilty to a state count of aiding and abetting manslaughter in the second degree. The charge of aiding and abetting murder was withdrawn in exchange. Kueng is currently serving a federal term for violating Floyd’s civil rights, and he will serve both the state and federal sentences concurrently.
Kueng, who is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, appeared by video from a federal prison in Ohio for his sentencing hearing. When presented with the opportunity to address the court, he declined.
Floyd’s relatives were permitted to make victim impact statements, but none did so.
Floyd passed away on May 25, 2020, after former Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for 9 and a half minutes while Floyd continually pleaded for air and eventually fell limp. The killing, which was seen on camera by an onlooker, spurred global protests as part of a larger reckoning with racial injustice.
Floyd continuously complained that he couldn’t breathe while former policemen Derek Chauvin and Kueng physically gripped him on his neck and back for 9 minutes and 30 seconds.
via REUTERS
Throughout the confinement, Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back. Officer Thomas Lane restrained Floyd’s legs, while Officer Tou Thao prevented others from assisting. Each officer was terminated and facing state and federal charges.
As part of his plea deal, Kueng confessed that he held Floyd’s torso, that he knew from experience and training that holding a handcuffed person in a prone position posed a serious risk, and that Floyd’s restraint was excessive under the circumstances.
During the hearing, Matthew Frank, who headed the prosecution for the Minnesota attorney general’s office, stated repeatedly that Floyd was a victim of a crime and that the prosecution “focused on the cops” who caused his death. He said that the case was not intended to be a broader analysis of policing, but he thinks it will underline that police officers cannot treat “those in crisis as non-humans or second-class citizens.”
George Floyd passed away on May 25, 2020, following a store clerk’s suspicion that he was using counterfeit currency.
“That day, Mr. Kueng was not merely a bystander. Frank stated, “He did less than several passersby who attempted to assist Mr. Floyd.”
The sentencing of Kueng puts the cases against all former cops one step closer to conclusion, although the state prosecution against Thao remains unresolved.
Thao earlier told Judge Peter Cahill that pleading guilty “would be lying.” In October, he consented to a stipulated evidence trial on the offense of assisting and abetting manslaughter. As part of this procedure, his attorneys and prosecutors are compiling evidence and submitting closing arguments in writing. Cahill will then determine whether or not he is guilty.
The murder count, which has a potential sentence of 12.5 years in jail, will be dismissed if Thao is found guilty.
Last year, Chauvin was found guilty of state murder and manslaughter counts and is currently spending 22 and a half years in the state case.
Last year, white Chauvin was convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges and is currently spending 22 and a half years in the state case. In addition, he pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights and received a 21-year sentence. The sentences are concurrently being served at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.
In February, Kueng, Lane, and Thao were convicted of federal charges: all three were convicted of depriving Floyd of his access to medical care, and Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to act during Chauvin’s murder.
Lane, who is Caucasian, is serving his 2-and-a-half-year federal sentences in a Colorado institution. Simultaneously, he is serving a three-year state sentence. Kueng, who is Black, was sentenced to three years on the federal charges, while Thao, who is Hmong American, received a sentence of three and a half years.