One of the four former Minneapolis police officers at the scene of George Floyd’s death has learned his manslaughter sentence. Thomas Lane, who had already pleaded guilty to a state charge of being an accessory to second-degree murder in Floyd’s murder, was sentenced to three years. He was already serving a 2 1/2-year federal sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights. FOX 9 Minneapolis reported that Wednesday’s sentencing means no additional jail time for Lane. In a deal with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office, he agreed to plead guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree murder on the condition that he serve a three-year state sentence to run concurrently with his federal sentence. . GEORGE FLOYD’S FRIEND TO PLEA THURSDAY TO AVOID TESTIFYING IN TRIAL FOR FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICERS THAO, KEUNG This photo provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office in Minnesota on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, shows Thomas Lane. (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP File) Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pinned the 46-year-old black man to the ground with a knee to his neck as he repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Lane, who is White, held Floyd’s legs. Alexander Kueng, who is black, knelt on Floyd’s back and Tou Thao, who is Hmong American, prevented bystanders from intervening during the roughly 9 1/2-minute holddown. The bystander video went viral online, sparking several nights of violent riots in Minneapolis as well as other metropolitan areas across the country, as well as daytime protests in the name of the Black Lives Matter racial justice movement. In this June 25, 2021, file photo taken from Pool Video, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin addresses the court as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over Chauvin’s sentencing in Minneapolis. (Court TV via AP, Pool, File) Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter and sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison in 2021. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights. His state and federal sentences are to be served concurrently. Kueng and Thao were also convicted of federal civil rights charges and sentenced to three and 3 1/2 years, respectively. They have yet to report to federal prison and are scheduled to stand trial on state charges of aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter in October. In August, Thao and Lane rejected a final offer from prosecutors for a plea deal, moving the case forward to trial. During a brief hearing, Thao said: “It would be a lie for me to accept any plea offer.” Tou Thao, left, and J. Alexander Kueng, right, are the remaining former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd (Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via AP, File) As with Chauvin’s state trial, Floyd’s friend Morries Lester Hall has said he plans to plead the fifth to avoid testifying at the upcoming trial for Thao and Keung. Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, had argued that Hall’s testimony could reveal that he and Floyd were using drugs in the area before police arrived at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, responding to a report that Chauvin Floyd allegedly used counterfeit $20s in Cups. Convenience store food. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Nelson claimed that Floyd could have died of a drug overdose. The Hennepin County medical examiner’s office ruled that Floyd died of cardiac arrest, but lawyers representing Floyd’s family argued that Floyd died of asphyxiation. At the federal trial for the three other officers who were at the scene, a toxicology expert told the court that Floyd died of asphyxiation after Chauvin restricted his airway for more than nine minutes. The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is breaking news. Check back for updates. Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
