Three police officers present during the murder of George Floyd during his arrest in 2020 were found guilty, Thursday, February 24, of not having intervened to assist him while the victim was dying before their eyes. The death of this African-American, filmed and posted online, sparked huge protests against racism and police violence across the United States and beyond, in the summer of 2020.
The trial of Tou Thao, 36, Alexander Kueng, 28, and Thomas Lane, 38, tried in Saint Paul in the north of the United States, lasted about a month. The jury delivered its verdict after two days of deliberation.
A fourth policeman, Derek Chauvin, was already found guilty in June of murder and sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison. It was he who had maintained for long minutes, on May 25, 2020, his knee on the neck of George Floyd, causing him to asphyxiate.
Alexander Kueng was on George Floyd’s back, and Thomas Lane was holding his legs. Tou Thao kept on his side the passers-by, shocked, at a distance. The three officers were found guilty of failing to bring the necessary aid to the African-American, who was clearly showing signs of vital distress.
Officers Thao and Kueng were also found guilty of failing to intervene to dissuade Derek Chauvin from“exert unreasonable force”. Thomas Lane, who had twice suggested putting the African-American on his side, in a lateral position of safety, was not targeted by this charge.
The three police officers will also be tried by the justice of the State of Minnesota, for “complicity in murder”from the beginning of June.