A federal appeals court on Wednesday accepted the government’s request to drop its appeals of the sentences of two former Minneapolis police officers who were convicted of civil rights violations in the killing of George Floyd.
One-page filings in the cases of former officers J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao gave few details. In July, federal judge Paul Magnuson sentenced Kueng to three years in prison and Thao to three and a half years. Those sentences were lower than what federal prosecutors had sought. The court file indicated that there had been little activity in the case since prosecutors filed their appeal notices in September.
GEORGE FLOYD MURDER: FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE OFFICER J. ALEXANDER KUENG SENTENCED TO 3.5 YEARS
Floyd, who was black, was killed on May 25, 2020, when former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes. Kueng helped restrain Floyd by leaning on his back, while Thao prevented bystanders from interfering. A fourth officer, Thomas Lane, was convicted on federal charges in February and pleaded guilty to state charges in May.
A federal appeals court has withdrawn its challenge to the sentences of two officers involved in the 2020 killing of George Floyd.
(FoxNews)
The killing sparked protests around the world, many of which were affiliated with Black Lives Matter, as part of a broader reckoning over racial injustice.
DEREK CHAUVIN FACES SENTENCE ON FEDERAL CHARGES IN THE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD
The federal civil rights cases were separate from the state charges Thao and Kueng faced. Kueng pleaded guilty in October to accessory to second-degree manslaughter, while Thao agreed to only what is called a stipulated evidence trial on the charge of accessory to a deal that avoided a full trial. Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill is expected to rule on Thao’s guilt or innocence in the coming weeks, based on prosecution and defense documents.
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Next Wednesday, the Minnesota Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in Chauvin’s appeal of his conviction on a state charge of second-degree murder, which resulted in a sentence of 22 1/2 years. Chauvin later pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges and was sentenced to 21 years. He is serving his federal sentence at the same time as his state sentence.
