Police

Former Police Officers Found Guilty of Violating George Floyd's Civil Rights

JAN 24 2022·Updated JAN 5 2023

Story

Image credit: Cedric Hohnstadt/Reuters [via The WSJ]

The Facts

Three Minneapolis police officers have been found guilty of violating George Floyd's civil rights by a federal jury.
wsj
Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were found to have shown deliberate indifference to Floyd's medical needs.
wsj
Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene while fellow officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for over 9 minutes.
wsj
Chauvin was convicted of murder last year and sentenced to 22.5 yrs in prison.
nytimes
The prosecution of officers for inaction while others use excessive force is exceptionally rare.
nytimes
The former officers have been released on bond. A date for sentencing is yet to be set.
wsj

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Officers are both trained and required to intervene in 'constitutional violations', but they're rarely charged for not doing so. Convicting these three officers could help change the "blue wall of silence" culture that has enabled violence against civilians and fueled racial unrest.

nytimes

Narrative B

Though Floyd's death was a tragedy, the actions of these officers weren't necessarily criminal. They had no reason to believe Chauvin was mishandling Floyd, who had a potentially fatal level of fentanyl in his body at the time of his death.

Daily Wire