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MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 24 (AP) A former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty Monday to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Flo as jury selection is about to begin id.
Another former official has waived his right to a jury trial, setting up an unusual process in which a judge will rule after lawyers submit written arguments.
J. Alexander Kueng’s plea deal called for a 3 1/2-year prison sentence and prosecutors agreed to waive aiding and abetting second-degree murder charges. Kueng is the second officer to plead guilty to state charges, following Thomas Lane, who pleaded guilty earlier this year.
Their former colleague Tou Thao rejected a plea deal earlier this year, telling the judge to accept any such deal as “a lie”.
On Monday, he agreed to move forward with a revised procedure known as a trial on evidence, in which he accepts certain evidence against him and waives his right to be tried and testified by a jury.
The parties will develop agreed evidence against Shao and prepare written closing arguments. They have until November 17 to submit the documents to Judge Peter Cahill, who will be found guilty or not guilty within 90 days. The process included an agreement to drop the assisting murder charge if Thao was convicted of a lesser charge. With such a conviction, Tao could be jailed for around four years.
All three were convicted in February on federal charges of willfully violating the civil rights of Floyd, who is black. Lane was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in the federal case. Kueng was sentenced to three years in prison and Thao to 3 1/2, but the sentences were too light for some of Floyd’s family members and activists.
Floyd, 46, died on May 25, 2020, after white police officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd to the ground with his knee on his neck because He repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe.
The killing, captured on widely-viewed bystander video, sparked protests in Minneapolis and around the globe as part of a reckoning over racial injustice.
Kueng and Lane help restrain Floyd in handcuffs. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back and Lane held Floyd’s legs. Thao prevented bystanders from intervening during the 9 1/2 minute restriction.
As part of the plea deal, Kueng admitted that he held Floyd’s torso, knowing from his experience and training that restraining a handcuffed person in a prone position would pose significant risks, and in such situations It is unreasonable to bind Freud.
Kueng’s plea calls for him to serve both his state and federal terms, as Lane did.
Chauvin was convicted last year of state murder and manslaughter and is currently serving 22 1/2 years in the state case. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights for which he was sentenced to 21 years in prison and 21 years in prison for an unrelated case involving a 14-year-old boy. He is also serving time at the federal correctional facility in Tucson, Arizona.
Kueng is black, Lane is white, and Thao is Hmong American. They were convicted of federal charges in February after a month-long trial that focused on police training and police department culture. All three were convicted of depriving Floyd of his medical rights, while Shao and Kun were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin during the killing.
Following their federal sentence, there is a question about whether Kueng and Thao will remain on trial, with legal experts saying they are likely to seek a plea deal with the state that will not exceed the federal sentence and allow them to serve concurrently.
The national sentencing guidelines for people with no criminal records like Kueng call for a sentence of about 3 1/2 years to 4 years and 9 months in prison for second-degree manslaughter. The presumed sentence is four years.
If Kueng is convicted of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, he faces a presumptive 12 1/2 years in prison. (Associated Press)
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Find The Associated Press’ full coverage of George Floyd’s death at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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