3 Ex-Cops Convicted of Rights Violations in Floyd Killing
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Three former Minneapolis police officers were convicted Thursday of violating George Floyd’s civil rights, as a federal jury rejected their arguments that inexperience, improper training or the distraction of shouting bystanders excused them from failing to prevent Floyd’s killing.
Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care as the 46-year-old Black man was pinned under fellow Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee for 9 1/2 minutes while handcuffed, facedown on the street on May 25, 2020.
Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin in the videotaped killing that sparked protests around the globe as part of a reckoning over racial injustice.