HomeHmong AmericanEx-cops Thao and Kueng reject plea deal in George Floyd murder

Ex-cops Thao and Kueng reject plea deal in George Floyd murder

Former Minneapolis Police officers Tou Thao and Alexander Kueng will stand trial on October 24 on state charges in the killing of George Floyd.

Reuters reports that both rejected a plea deal that would reduce their sentence to three years in prison.

By going to trial, they now face maximum sentences of 12 1/2 years on the murder count and 4 years on the manslaughter count, according to CBS News.

“It would be lying for me to accept any plea offer,” said Thou.

Both he and Kueng along with a third officer are accused of standing by and doing nothing while another officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck and killed him.

Another ex-officer, Thomas Lane, had already accepted a similar plea deal.

Thou and Kueng have already been sentenced to 3 1/2 years and 3 years in prison on federal charges. Lane received a sentence of 2 1/2 years. If Thou and Kueng had accepted the plea deal, they would have been allowed to serve both the federal and state sentences concurrently. They now risk serving a much longer prison term.

“The State is ready for trial,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement.

Chauvin has already been sentenced to 22 1/2 years on the state charge and 21 years on the federal charges.

“It’s a standard best practice to make a record in court when the State offers a plea agreement, in order to ensure the defendant’s decision is freely and knowingly made,” Ellison said. “The defendants have a right to decline the offer and proceed to trial.

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