A jury today found three former police officers guilty of violating the civil rights of George Floyd in St. Paul, Minnesota, reports CBS.
The jury said Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane showed deliberate indifference to the medical needs of Floyd as another officer, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on Floyd for 9 minutes, ultimately killing him.
Eight women and four men also declared Thao and Kueng guilty of failing to stop Chauvin who in June received a sentence of 22 years in Floyd’s death.
The three officers found guilty today could get a sentence of life imprisonment or even death, but sentencing guidelines call for a much lighter sentence, reported CNN.
“They chose not to aid George Floyd, as the window into which Mr. Floyd’s life could have been saved slammed shut,” prosecutor Manda Sertich said Tuesday, according to NBC.
Thao’s defense attorney, Robert Paule, argued that “just because something has a tragic ending does not mean it’s a crime.”
Minnesota is home to the second largest Hmong American population in the United States, 2nd to California. Both Thao and Chauvin’s ex-wife, Kellie Chauvin, are Hmong. She pleaded not guilty to tax evasion charges in November, reported ABC.
Floyd’s death coupled with videos of the police action, outraged a nation and sparked national protests and brought the Black Lives Matter movement to its heights.
Lane, Kueng and Thao still are scheduled to stand trial in June on state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
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