Three former police officers who were present at the time George Floyd was murdered in the US in 2020 have been found guilty of federal crimes for depriving the former security guard of his constitutional rights by failing to provide him with medical care. The decision was rendered this Thursday (23).
Thomas Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, all former agents of the city of Minneapolis, participated in the approach in which former police officer Derek Chauvin pressed Floyd’s neck with his knee for more than nine minutes, leading him to death.
In the understanding of American justice, they did nothing to prevent the violence or help Floyd from the approach.
Jurors also found Thao and Kueng guilty of an additional charge for failing to intervene to stop Chauvin.
Chauvin pleaded guilty to the same charge of violating Floyd’s rights, but only after being convicted of three categories of murder. He is serving 22 and a half years in a Minnesota maximum security prison.
Prosecutor Manda Sertich said the officers “chose to do nothing” as Chauvin pressed the black man’s neck. According to her, that choice resulted in Floyd’s death.
The accusation of violation of rights is also related to the fact that Lane, Thao and Kueng would have deprived the victim of medical care by deciding not to intervene in Chauvin’s action and failing in the training that could have saved Floyd’s life, when he became unconscious. .
The prosecutor also pointed out what each of the three would have done during the approach that justified the accusation. According to her, while Thao ignored witnesses who warned that Floyd was passed out, Kueng was concerned about the condition of the vehicle’s tires, and Lane, although he had expressed concern about the victim’s condition, “did nothing to give Floyd medical assistance. that he desperately needed.”
Lane’s attorney argued that the client shouldn’t even be charged, as he expressed concern about Floyd’s condition and reportedly suggested to Chauvin twice to turn him on his side to make breathing easier. He also said that Lane would have performed the resuscitation procedure on Floyd after the ambulance arrived.
Kueng’s line of defense tried to argue that the ex-cop had not been properly trained to intervene and that Chauvin was leading the group. Both Kueng and Lane were new to the corporation.
Thao’s lawyer stated that his client did not act in bad faith, believing that the approach was appropriate given the suspicion that Floyd was drugged.
The three former police officers await the sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled, in freedom. Violating a citizen’s constitutional rights can be punished by life in prison according to the US Department of Justice, depending on the circumstances, but former agents are expected to receive a lesser sentence.
The verdict represents a significant victory for the Department of Justice, which, under the administration of Joe Biden, has vowed to be more assertive in prosecuting civil rights violations.
The jury’s decision, made up of eight women and four men, comes two days after the three white men convicted of stalking and killing young black Ahmaud Arbery while he was jogging in a mostly white Georgia neighborhood were also found guilty of committing hate crimes.
It was the first time convicted of such a high-profile murder had faced a jury trial for hate crimes. In practice, the Court’s conclusion is that the defendants killed Arbery because he was black.
