On Thursday, a federal jury in Minneapolis found three former Minneapolis police officers guilty of violating George Floyd of his civil rights by ceasing to function to assist the handcuffed Black man stuck beneath a colleague’s knee. The jury also concluded that the officers’ actions during the arrest on May 25, 2020, resulted in Floyd’s death, an outcome that could have an impact on the severity of their punishment.
The three guilty officers are Tou Thao, 36; J. Alexander Kueng, 28; and Thomas Lane, 38. It’s an exceptional circumstance that a police officer is held criminally liable for the use of unreasonable force by a colleague. Floyd’s constitutional right to medical attention was rejected by all three men while he was in police custody.
“It could never be justice”
Thao and Kueng were also found guilty of violating the rights of George Floyd to be free of excessive force by failing to reconcile when their colleague Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Chauvin was found guilty of Floyd’s murder in a state court last year. Thao, Kueng, and Lane will be discharged on bail pending their verdict hearing, which has not yet been set. Prosecutors haven’t stated what kind of charge they will seek, but the men might face years in prison.
“This is just accountability,” Philonise Floyd told reporters after the verdict was read. “It could never be justice because I can never get my brother back.”
Prosecutors in the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division have won a second case this week. “That’s historic for our country because oftentimes officers kill Black and brown men and women; and we get little to no consequences,” said Brandon Williams, George Floyd’s nephew. “A lot of times we don’t even get charges, let alone convictions.”
