Officers Who Watched Derek Chauvin Murder George Floyd Found Guilty
All three of Chauvin's cronies were found guilty of all charges, including violating George Floyd's civil rights.
Three officers who were with Derek Chauvin while he kneeled on George Floyd's neck for nearly 10 minutes and murdered him in broad daylight finally found out their fates today: GUILTY AS CHARGED. Former officers Thao, Keung and Lane were found guilty of federal civil rights violations for failing to intervene in the murder of George Floyd. They each face life in prison.
A federal jury found that all three deprived George Floyd of his right to medical care and that two of them failed to intervene as Chauvin kneeled on George Floyd's neck. All of these things were obvious to anyone who watched the videos. Lane and Kueng were the first officers to arrive at Cup Foods after someone who worked there called to report that George Floyd allegedly tried to use a counterfeit $20 bill. The two officers attempted to handcuff George Floyd. Shortly after, Thao and Chauvin arrived on the scene. As George Floyd resisted getting into the squad car, three of the officers restrained Floyd to the ground, with Chauvin kneeling on his neck as the other 2 literally watched the life drain from him while they did absolutely nothing. So much for "protect and serve."
Chauvin, the most senior officer on the scene and the one who pressed his knee into George Floyd's neck for almost 10 minutes was convicted of murder last year in a state trial. He also pleaded guilty to a single charge of violating Floyd's civil rights last December.
This trial focused on what the other 3 officers did - or didn't do - during the course of this murder. All 3 contributed to the murder in some fashion - Lane held George Floyd's legs down, Keung knelt on his back and Thao did crowd control, stopping people from intervening. Based on this acts, all three were charged with willfully and without due process depriving Floyd of his right to liberty. Thao and Keung were additionally charged with willfully depriving Floyd of his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure when they failed to intervene to stop Chauvin.
It was a tough case, as they were newish officers and made the case that they were following the lead of a significantly more seasoned officer. In fact, their defense blamed a lack of training. Lane and Keung were rookies and completely new to law enforcement. That defense didn't fly.
So what comes next? In addition to the federal sentencing, all three also face state charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter. The state trial is scheduled to begin on June 13th and all three have pleaded not guilty.