After the death of George Floyd, a US court convicted three former police officers. You were there when Chauvin killed the black man.
Saint Paul – Three ex-police officers have been found guilty in the second trial of the violent death of black George Floyd in Minneapolis. A grand jury in Saint Paul ruled on Thursday (February 24, 2022, local time) that Tou Thao, Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane had violated the civil rights of 46-year-old Floyd in his brutal arrest.
After 13 hours of deliberations, the jury of the federal court found the three accused specifically guilty of failure to provide assistance. In addition, Thao and Kueng were found guilty of failing to stop the “disproportionate use” of former police officer Derek Chauvin, who has already been convicted as the main perpetrator. However, the sentence for the three now convicted has not yet been determined. It will be announced at a later date. You face a long prison sentence.
George Floyd case: Police officers convicted of failure to provide assistance
George Floyd was killed in a brutal police operation on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Because of an allegedly counterfeit $20 bill, Chauvin had kneed the arrested black man for around nine and a half minutes, although he repeatedly complained that he could not breathe. Kueng and Lane also pinned Floyd to the ground while Thao kept passersby at a distance.
In the closing arguments of the trial against the three former police officers, the public prosecutor made serious allegations. “Police knew George Floyd couldn’t breathe, had no pulse and was dying,” said prosecutor Manda Sertich. It was a crime that they still didn’t do anything.
Death of George Floyd: Main perpetrator Chauvin already convicted in 2021
A jury found Derek Chauvin guilty of second-degree murder in another trial in April 2021. A court in Minneapolis then sentenced him to 22 years and six months in prison. A few months later, Chauvin pleaded guilty to the federal lawsuit against him, which faces an additional prison term.
A video of the brutal police operation against Geoge Floyd caused outrage both in the United States and internationally. The “Black Lives Matter” movement had demonstrated nationwide against racism and police violence. Floyd’s “I can’t breathe” lawsuit went around the world and became a motto of the anti-racism movement.
George Floyd: verdict against police officers with signal effect
The trial of the three former police officers has a signal effect in the United States. In the future, juries may be more willing to convict not only officers who kill people but also those who stand by, the New York Times reported. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the verdict recognized that the ex-cops broke the constitution.
The verdict comes just days after three white men were convicted of hate crimes in the Ahmaud Arbery case. The black man was killed while jogging in the state of Georgia. (ms with AFP/dpa)
