Ex-Mpls. Officers Guilty of Civil Rights Charges in George Floyd's Death

MINNEAPOLIS—Three former Minneapolis police officers were convicted by a federal jury Thursday of depriving George Floyd of his constitutional rights by holding him prone and handcuffed until he died on the street outside Cup Foods on May 25, 2020.

J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were found guilty on all counts. They showed little reaction as the verdicts were read with Lane slightly shaking his head and shrugging as he looked at his attorney. Attorneys for the three declined to comment afterward.

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Assistant U.S. Attorney LeeAnn Bell, who was the lead prosecutor on the case, spoke at a courthouse news conference afterward, thanking the jurors for their attentiveness during a long and difficult trial.

"We haven't been able to talk about George Floyd for much of this trial, but as one of the brave bystanders said, 'George Floyd was a human being,'" Bell said. "He deserved to be treated as such."

Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, said that going on two years after his brother's death, the verdicts make him finally feel like he can breathe again.

"I don't know how to act right now because I'm getting emotional. I got a lot of stuff going through my head ... This has been a journey," he said.

On behalf of the family, he said, "This is something we want everybody to remember: If you kill somebody, you're going to get time."

Charles Kovats, acting U.S. attorney for the district of Minnesota, declined to take questions, including what length of sentence prosecutors would request for the three.

Kueng and Thao were convicted of failing to intervene on Floyd's behalf as he pleaded for his life and repeatedly said he couldn't breathe while pinned under the knee of former Officer Derek Chauvin for more than nine minutes.

Along with Lane, Kueng and Thao were also convicted of violating Floyd's constitutional rights by failing to render aid during the restraint captured on a bystander video that fueled global unrest and a racial reckoning.

Having found the officers guilty, the jury also was asked whether Floyd's restraint caused his death. The jury answered yes, allowing the judge to give the former cops longer sentences if he chooses.

The three former officers now face a second trial in Floyd's death on June 13 in Hennepin County District Court where they are accused of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.

Chauvin has already been convicted in both state and federal court. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in December to violating Floyd's constitutional rights, but has yet to be sentenced on that crime. He was convicted of Floyd's murder last April and sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. Chauvin is being held in the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Oak Park Heights.

Jury selection in the trial of Kueng, Lane and Thao began in late January. Lawyers made their opening statements Jan. 24 and closing arguments Tuesday. The prosecution put 21 witnesses on the stand. The defense attorneys called 11 witnesses, including all three defendants.

Jurors began deliberations in the case just before 10 a.m. Wednesday and worked about 13 hours before reaching their verdict just before 4 p.m. Thursday.

Floyd died on Memorial Day in the custody of the officers. The following day, Police Chief Medaria Arradondo fired all four officers as the video shot by teenage bystander Darnella Frazier ricocheted around the world on social media.

Kueng and Lane were first on the scene at the convenience store on a report from a clerk that Floyd has used a counterfeit $20 to buy a pack of cigarettes. They first approached him in his Mercedes SUV on the street and cuffed his hands behind his back before walking him across the street and trying to get him into the back of a squad vehicle.

As Kueng and Lane struggled to get an upset Floyd into the backseat, Chauvin and Thao arrived to help. With Thao standing watch, the other three officers placed a handcuffed Floyd prone on the street.

Floyd repeatedly said he couldn't breathe while Chauvin put his knee on the back of Floyd's neck, pressing the side of his face into the street. Kueng held down Floyd's lower back area while Lane controlled his legs. Thao remained standing, holding back an increasingly angry group of bystanders on the curb who pleaded for them to relent or check Floyd's pulse.

In his instructions to the jury before deliberations, Judge Paul Magnuson told jurors they must view the evidence in light of what a "reasonable officer at the scene" would have done "without the benefit of 20-20 hindsight."

He told them they must consider whether the decision to use force on Floyd was reasonable under circumstances that were tense and rapidly evolving.

It violates the Constitution for a police officer to fail to intervene if he had knowledge the force was unreasonable and ability to help, Magnuson said.

The jurors, all 12 of whom are white, come from all over the state. Eight are women and four are men. Two each are from Hennepin, Ramsey and Olmsted counties. One juror each is from the following counties: Anoka, Blue Earth, Washington, Jackson, Nicollet and Scott.

Star Tribune staff writer Zoe Jackson contributed to this report.

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