Tou Thao, the latest former Minneapolis police officer convicted through state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, showed no remorse or admitted wrongdoing when sentencing him Monday to 4 years and nine months.
Thao had testified in the past that he was only serving as a “huge traffic cone” when he restrained the bystanders involved who piled up when former officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes. while the black man begged for his life on May 25, 2020.
A bystander video captured Floyd’s screams “I can’t breathe. “Floyd’s killing sparked protests around the world and sparked a nationwide number of police brutality and racism.
At his sentencing hearing, Thao said he never intended to harm anyone that day. He spoke at length about his expansion as a Christian during his 340 days behind bars, but denied his duty over Floyd’s death. parallels with the suffering and false accusations endured through Job and Jesus.
“I didn’t dedicate those crimes,” Thao said. Mine is clear. I will not be a Judas or join a crowd in self-preservation or betray my God. “
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill, who convicted Thao in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, said he would have liked to hear some of Thao’s repentance on Monday.
“After 3 years of reflection, I expect a little more remorse, regret, popularity of some duty, and fewer sermons,” he said.
Cahill then sentenced Thao to 57 months, the upper limit of diversity by state guidelines, where the popular sentence is 48 months or even 4 years. The sentence was longer than the 51 months requested by prosecutors and the 41 months requested by Thao’s lawyer. Roberto Paula.
Thao’s sentencing will be carried out alongside a 31/2-year sentence for his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge, which an appeals court upheld Friday. State of Minnesota to serve the remaining months with credits for time spent.
Paule, who called Thao “a decent guy with a family” in court, later said they would appeal state and federal cases. He declined to comment further.
Assistant Attorney General Erin Eldridge at the hearing where Floyd’s last words “resonated around the world. “
“George Floyd recounted his own death, an immobilization that lasted more than nine long minutes until he lost consciousness, stopped breathing and his center stopped beating,” he said.
Thao facilitated Floyd’s death, he said, because he “stood there and allowed it to happen” and prevented others from helping the dying man, adding that a Minneapolis firefighter who was a trained emergency medical technician may have performed CPR.
“He knew more and trained himself to do better,” Eldridge said.
The hearing, which lasted just over half an hour, reflected the end of the judicial instances derived from the murder of Floyd. While members of Floyd’s circle of relatives were present at previous proceedings, none were in the courtroom for Thao’s sentencing. Eldridge told the court they wanted to cry in private. Apart from four of Thao’s relatives or friends, most of those present in the courtroom were journalists.
Prosecutors left the courthouse commenting to reporters.
People carry signs with George Floyd as they walk from the Lincoln Memorial to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial march on Washington, Friday, Aug. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
In his 177-page ruling convicting Thao, Cahill said Thao’s moves separated Chauvin and two other former mob officials, allowing his colleagues to continue holding Floyd and prevent bystanders from offering medical assistance.
“There is evidence beyond a moderate doubt that Thao’s movements were objectively out of control from the point of view of a moderate police officer, when considered in the totality of the circumstances,” Cahill wrote. It concluded: “Thao’s movements were even less moderate given that he was forced to intervene to prevent excessive use of force by other officials and that he had been trained to provide medical assistance. “
Thao had rejected a plea bargain price on the state-run charge, saying it would “be lying” to plead guilty when he didn’t believe he was wrong. Instead, he agreed to let Cahill build the case on evidence from Chauvin’s 2021 killing. trial and the 2022 federal civil rights trial of Thao and former officials Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng.
The trial in federal court resulted in convictions for all three. Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal civil rights fees for going to trial for a moment, though he anticipates a lengthy state appeal of his conviction to the U. S. Supreme Court. U. S. Lane and Kueng testified to blaming the fees for aiding and abetting the killing.
Lane and Kueng won state sentences of 3 and 3 1/2 years, respectively, which they serve alongside their federal sentences of 2 1/2 and 3 years. Thao is American Hmong, while Kueng is black and Lane is white.
Minnesota inmates serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison and one-third on probation. There is no parole in the federal system, however, inmates can reduce their sentence if they behave well.