 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
Two former Minneapolis police officers, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng charged in George Floyd’s killing told a judge Monday that they have rejected plea deals that would have resulted in three-year prison sentences.
The officers are charged with aiding and
abetting both second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s
death, The Associated Press reports. Thao and Kueng were working with Derek
Chauvin when he pinned Floyd’s neck with his knee for more than nine minutes as
the 46-year-old Black man said “I can’t breathe” and later died at the scene.
Chauvin, a white
man was convicted of second-degree murder in 2021 and sentenced to 22 years and
6 months in prison on the state charge.
Hennepin
County Judge Peter Cahill had set a limited window for accepting a plea deal
ahead of trial.
“It would be
lying for me to accept any plea offer,” said Thou, who held back concerned
bystanders as Chauvin pinned Floyd, The Associated Press reported.
In February
Thao, Kueng and Lane were convicted in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil
rights, according to The Associated Press. Lane held Flyod’s legs and twice
asked if he should be turned on his side. He was sentenced to two and half year
years in prison while Thao was sentenced to three and half years in prison.
Kueng, who pinned Floyd’s back, was sentenced to three years in prison.
Assistant
Attorney General Matt Frank said plea negotiations began in May and continued
into June, according to The Associated Press. The offers would have dropped the
charge of aiding and abetting murder, and the officers’ state prison time would
have run concurrently with the federal sentences.
The trial is
scheduled to begin Oct. 24 with opening statements on November 7.
In May Lane
accepted a plea deal and pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree
murder. His sentencing comes up on September 21 for possible three years in
prison. Chauvin is serving his time in a state maximum security prison at Oak
Park Heights pending his transfer to federal prison to serve his 21 year
sentencing in federal civil right violations.