The officers are set to face another charge for aiding and abetting Derek Chauvin’s actions
Three former police officers present at the death of George Floyd denied the unarmed black man of his civil rights, a jury has found.
The Minneapolis officers, Tou Thao, 36, J Alexander Kueng, 28, and Thomas Lane, 38, were charged with showing “deliberate indifference to [Floyd’s] serious medical needs” during the attempted arrest in May 2020.
The trio testified in their defence at trial, saying said they did not realise Floyd needed medical care.
Violating a person’s civil rights carries various punishments but prosecutors have recommended 25 years in federal prison for each man.
BREAKING: Three former Minneapolis police officers who were at the scene of George Floyd's killing have been convicted of violating his civil rights. They were charged with depriving Floyd of his right to medical care when Officer Derek Chauvin killed him. https://t.co/3WjmDiKuGi
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 24, 2022
Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was filmed kneeling on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, is currently serving a 22-and-a-half-year sentence after being found guilty of murder last April.
Chauvin also pleaded guilty in December to his own federal civil rights charges.
Video footage of the arrest shows Keung and Lane assisting Chauvin by helping to hold Floyd down while Thao kept bystanders away.
Prosecutors argued during the trial that “human decency and common sense” should have compelled the men to intervene to stop Floyd from dying.
The men will be back in court in June to face criminal charges for aiding and abetting Chauvin’s actions.
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