Ex-Minneapolis officer pleads guilty in George Floyd case -report
2022.05.18 17:42
FILE PHOTO: Former Minnesota police officer Thomas Lane poses in a combination of booking photographs at Hennepin County Jail in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. June 3, 2020. Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS
(Reuters) -Ex-Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane pleaded guilty on Wednesday to aiding and abetting manslaughter in the murder of George Floyd, who died in 2020 when a fellow police officer knelt on his neck, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Lane entered the plea in front of Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill. He agreed to a sentence of three years in exchange for prosecutors dropping a count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, the newspaper reported.
Ex-officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng are scheduled to face trial in June on state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd’s death.
In February, the three were convicted on federal charges of depriving George Floyd of his civil rights by failing to give aid to the handcuffed Black man pinned beneath the knee of their colleague, Derek Chauvin, for more than nine minutes.
Floyd’s killing sparked protests in cities around the world against police brutality and racism. Chauvin, who is white, was sentenced to 22-1/2 years in prison last year after a state murder trial.
Chauvin has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges he violated Floyd’s civil rights.
