Ex Officer Tou Thao Convicted Of Aiding In The Murder Of George Floyd

Former Minneapolis Officer Tou Thao Convicted Of Aiding In The Murder Of George Floyd

A former Minneapolis police officer who held back bystanders while his colleagues restrained a dying George Floyd has been convicted of aiding and abetting manslaughter.

Tou Thao, who already had been convicted in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil rights, was last of the four former officers facing judgment in state court in Floyd’s killing.

The judge ordered a presentence investigation and set Aug. 7 as the sentencing date. Minnesota sentencing guidelines recommend four years on the manslaughter count.

 

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He will serve his state term concurrent with his 3 1/2-year federal sentence.

Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twenty-dollar bill, on May 25, 2020.

Derek Chauvin, one of the four police officers who arrived on the scene, knelt on Floyd’s neck and back for 9 minutes and 29 seconds which caused a lack of oxygen.

After his murder, protests against police brutality, especially towards black people, quickly spread across the United States and globally. His dying words, “I can’t breathe,” became a rallying slogan.