Ex-Minneapolis cop Tou Thao sentenced for role in George Floyd’s death

MINNEAPOLIS — A judge sentenced former Minneapolis Police Officer Tou Thao to serve nearly five years in prison after he was found guilty earlier this year of aiding and abetting manslaughter for his role in George Floyd’s death in 2020, according to multiple reports.

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Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Thao to serve 4 years and 9 months in prison, with credit for 340 days served, according to KMSP and The Associated Press. The 57-month sentence was higher than the 51 months sought by prosecutors, KMSP reported.

“I was hoping for a little more remorse, regret, acknowledgment of some responsibility. And less preaching,” Cahill said in court Monday, according to the news station.

Thao’s sentence will run concurrently with the three-and-a-half-year sentence handed down last year by a federal judge after he was convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights, KSTP reported.

The former officer testified last year in federal court, saying that he was focused on controlling the crowd when Floyd was killed and that he assumed his fellow officers were taking proper care of the 46-year-old, according to KSTP. He described his role as serving as “a human traffic cone,” the AP reported.

Prosecutors argued that the nearly 9-year veteran of the police force should have known that Floyd needed medical attention, according to KSTP. In a 177-page ruling issued in May, Cahill wrote, “There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao’s actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances,” according to the AP.

“Thao’s actions were even more unreasonable in light of the fact that he was under a duty to intervene to stop the other officers’ excessive use of force and was trained to render medical aid,” the judge added.

Thao is one of four officers who were charged after video surfaced online showing police holding Floyd down as he pleaded for air on May 25, 2020. He died after then-Officer Derek Chauvin held his knee to Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, sparking outrage and protests nationwide.

Chauvin has since been convicted of charges including murder and manslaughter. Two other officers who helped hold Floyd down — J. Kueng Alexander and Thomas Lane — have also been convicted of state and federal charges.