A pair of former Minneapolis police officers turned down plea agreements Monday that would have given them three-year prison sentences for their role in George Floyd’s murder.
With the plea deals rejected, the two former police officers, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng, are now poised to stand trial in October for the state charges pertaining to the death of Floyd. Both men have already faced sentencing for some of the federal charges levied against them over Floyd’s death.
TWO FORMER POLICE OFFICERS SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR VIOLATING GEORGE FLOYD’S CIVIL RIGHTS
“It would be lying for me to accept any plea offer,” Thou explained, per the Associated Press.
Thao kept bystanders away from the scene when former officer Derek Chauvin pinned down Floyd and placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes while Floyd said he could not breathe, according to video taken by a person standing nearby. The encounter triggered outrage and sparked nationwide protests during the summer of 2020.
Kueng declined to state his reason for spurning the plea offer. He helped hold Floyd down alongside Chauvin during the encounter and was later unable to detect a pulse for Floyd, officials say.
Both men were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and second-degree murder in Floyd’s death. They were offered a similar plea deal to the one former officer Thomas Lane took earlier this year, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s deputy chief of staff said, per CNN.
Kueng, Lane, and Thao were found guilty in federal court in February for breaching Floyd’s civil rights. Thao received 3 1/2 years in prison, Lane 2 1/2 years, and Kueng three years stemming from those charges.
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Chauvin was hit with a more severe sentence, receiving 21 years in prison for violating Floyd’s civil rights. He was previously slapped with a sentence of 20-25 years during a plea last year for federal charges pertaining to Floyd’s murder.
Lane is slated to face sentencing in the state case on Sept. 21. The trial for Kueng and Thao is scheduled to begin on Oct. 24.
