Three ex-US police officers found guilty of violating George Floyd’s rights
- The jury also found that the conduct of Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane had caused the black man’s death
- The three men had failed to help Floyd as he was pinned beneath colleague Derek Chauvin’s knee
Three former Minneapolis police officers were found guilty on Thursday of depriving George Floyd of his rights by failing to give aid to the handcuffed black man pinned beneath a colleague’s knee.
The jury also found that the conduct of officers Tou Thao, 36; J. Alexander Kueng, 28; and Thomas Lane, 38, caused Floyd’s death, a finding that can affect the severity of their sentence.
The case hinged on questions about when an officer has a duty to intervene in another’s misconduct. It is a rare instance of police officers being held criminally responsible for a colleague’s excessive force.
All three men will remain free on bail pending their sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
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‘We’re able to breathe again’, say George Floyd supporters as Derek Chauvin found guilty of murder
Federal prosecutors argued in US District Court in St. Paul that the men knew from their training and from “basic human decency” that they had a duty to help Floyd as he begged for his life before falling limp beneath the knee of the defendants’ former colleague, Derek Chauvin.
