The federal judge Paul Magnuson pronounced, on Wednesday, three years of detention for Alexander Kueng and three and a half years for Tou Thao, during a short hearing in a court of Saint-Paul.
Le Monde with AFP
American justice condemned, Wednesday, July 27, two police officers to prison for having been passive during the murder of George Floyd, a drama that had aroused monster demonstrations against racism in 2020.
Federal judge Paul Magnuson pronounced three-year detention sentences for Alexander Kueng, 28, and three and a half for Tou Thao, 36, during a short hearing in a court in Saint-Paul.
The two men had been found guilty in February of “violation of civil rights” of the African-American at the same time as a third agent, Thomas Lane, 38, who was sentenced last week a sentence of two and a half years in prison.
Second roles of this drama with planetary repercussions, the three men were accused by federal justice of not having brought the necessary help to George Floyd during his agony under the knee of their colleague Derek Chauvin.
The latter, who had maintained the pressure on the neck of the black forty -year -old for almost ten minutes, was sentenced to twenty -one years in prison by the federal justice.
new recruits
The differences between the sentences pronounced against his three colleagues are partly due to their experience – Thomas Lane and Alexander Kueng were new recruits with very few patrols to their credit – and their attitude on the day of the drama. Unlike the other two who were not at all intervened, Thomas Lane had suggested placing George Floyd on his side and had tried to revive him when help arrives.
On May 25, 2020, a Minneapolis merchant called the police to accuse George Floyd of having sold a false 20 dollars tickets in his store.
After having struggled to bring this man into their vehicle with imposing stature and erratic driving, they had plated it on the ground, handcuffed. Derek Chauvin had settled on his knees on his neck, the two new ones by his side, while Tou Thao kept the passers -by from a distance. They had no longer moved, despite the ranges of the forties and her loss of consciousness.
The scene, filmed and put online, had sparked immense demonstrations against racism and police violence in all the United States and beyond, and continues to feed a reflection on the racism of America.
In parallel with the proceedings initiated by the federal justice, the justice of the State of Minnesota condemned Derek Chauvin for murder at twenty-two and a half in prison, and charged his three colleagues of “complicity in murder”. Thomas Lane pleaded guilty and awaits his sentence, which he could serve at the same time as the federal sentence. The trial of the other two must be held in the fall.