A former Minneapolis police officer who detained passersby while his colleagues detained African-American George Floyd, who eventually choked to death, has been convicted in court of complicity in the aggravated murder.
Officer Tou Thao – who was previously convicted in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil rights – was the last of four former police officers to go on trial in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020 for Floyd’s murder.
Thao rejected a plea deal and, instead of going to court, let Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill decide the verdict based on written records and evidence presented in previous cases.
The cop was eventually convicted of complicity in murder Monday night in a 177-page sentence.
In January, prosecutors argued that despite his nearly nine years of experience, Thao “acted without courage and showed no compassion”.
George Floyd was an African American who died on May 25, 2020 after Officer Derek Chauvin pinned him to the ground with his knee for nine and a half minutes.
The video of an onlooker capturing Floyd’s screams and saying he couldn’t breathe went viral on social networks and sparked a wave of demonstrations against racism and against police brutality in several cities around the world.
Unlike the other three former police officers, Thao said he made no mistakes, let alone committed a crime.
When he rejected a plea deal in state court last August, Thao argued that if he pleaded guilty, he would be lying.
Prosecutors, however, believed that Thao knew his colleagues were treating Floyd in an “extremely dangerous” manner, which could have left the African American breathless as the victim called for help.
Defense attorney Robert Paule argued that the Justice Department could not conclusively prove that Thao knew Chauvin committed a crime or that Thao intended to assist in the crime, but that was not the opinion of the court.
The judge will announce the sentence during a hearing scheduled for August 7.
Source: DN
