Two former cops convicted in George Floyd’s death sentenced to jail

Two former police officers convicted in the death of George Floyd have both been sentenced to prison terms.

Former Minneapolis police officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were sentenced Wednesday, July 27, by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Magnuson.

Magnuson, who noted that Kueng was a rookie cop at the time of Floyd’s death, sentenced him to serve three years in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, according to St. Paul ABC affiliate KSTP.

In a separate hearing, Magnuson sentenced Thao, who had been a nine-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department at the time of Floyd’s death, to 3 1/2 years in prison, also followed by two years of supervised release, KSTP reported.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Manda Sertich told Magnuson that Kueng admitted during his trial testimony that he was aware that it was his duty to intervene, but he failed to act.

“All he had to do per MPD policy was attempt to intervene … but he didn’t say a word. Not one word,” Sertich said, according to KSTP.

Kueng declined to make a statement in court before he was sentenced. But his attorney, Thomas Plunkett, spoke on his behalf, telling Magnuson, “He’s a nice young man that attempted to help the community by taking on a difficult role … and now he’s being sentenced for that.”

Both Kueng, 28, and Thao, 35, were convicted by a federal jury in February along with their former police colleague Thomas Lane, 39, who received a sentence last week of 2 1/2 years in prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights.