MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, was sentenced Monday to 4 years and 9 months.
Thao had testified that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when he held back concerned bystanders who gathered as former Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s while he pleaded for his life on May 25, 2020. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.”
Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. The sentence he handed down Monday will run concurrently with Thao’s 3 1/2-year sentence on his separate conviction on a federal civil rights charge. His state sentence was more than the 4 years recommended under state guidelines.
Minnesota inmates generally serve two-thirds of their sentences in prison and one-third on parole. There is no parole in the federal system, but inmates can shave some time off their sentences with good behavior.
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