Saint Paul (AFP) - A jury found three former Minneapolis police officers guilty on Thursday of violating the civil rights of George Floyd, the African-American man whose May 2020 murder sparked nationwide protests.
Tou Thao, 36, J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Thomas Lane, 38, were convicted after a month-long federal trial in Saint Paul, the sister city of Minneapolis, of showing "deliberate indifference" to Floyd's medical needs.
Thao and Kueng were also found guilty of failing to intervene to stop the use of "unreasonable force" against Floyd by a fourth officer, Derek Chauvin.
Chauvin, who is white and was the senior officer on the scene, kneeled on the neck of a handcuffed Floyd for nearly 10 minutes until he passed out and died.
He was convicted of murder last year and is serving 22 years in prison.
Floyd's death, which was filmed by a bystander in a video that went viral, sparked months of protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the United States and around the world.
Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Brandon Williams, Floyd's nephew, called it a "small victory."
"Often times, you know, officers kill Black and brown men and women and we get little to no consequences," Williams said."A lot of times, we don't even get charges, let alone a conviction."
The all-white jury of eight women and four men deliberated for 13 hours over two days before finding the three former officers guilty of all the charges against them.
The maximum sentence is life in prison but the three are not expected to get such a lengthy punishment.
Thao and Kueng did not react as the verdicts were read but Lane dropped something on the table in front of him and shook his head.
Lane did not face the second charge of failing to intervene.Video of the arrest shows that on two occasions he suggested that Floyd be rolled over on his side.
'Floyd should be alive today'
US Attorney General Merrick Garland welcomed the verdict in the high-profile case and said "George Floyd should be alive today."
"Today's verdict recognizes that two police officers violated the Constitution by failing to intervene to stop another officer from killing George Floyd, and three officers violated the Constitution by failing to provide aid to Mr. Floyd in time to prevent his death," Garland said in a statement.
"The Justice Department will continue to seek accountability for law enforcement officers whose actions, or failure to act, violate their constitutional duty to protect the civil rights of our citizens."
Philonise Floyd, Floyd's brother, described it as a "good day" for the family but said "this is just accountability."
"It could never be justice, because I can never get George back," he said.
Thao, Kueng, Lane and Chauvin were attempting to arrest the 46-year-old Floyd for allegedly using a fake $20 bill to buy a pack of cigarettes.
After Floyd put up a struggle while being placed in a police car, the officers wrestled him to the ground and placed him face down on the pavement.
While Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck, Kueng was on his back and Lane held his legs.Thao kept back bystanders who were pleading with Chauvin to get off the visibly distressed Floyd.
'Couldn't breathe'
In her closing arguments to the jury, prosecutor Manda Sertich said all three officers "knew that George Floyd couldn't breathe, didn't have a pulse and was dying."
"Make no mistake, this is a crime," Sertich said.
Lawyers for Kueng and Lane stressed that the two officers had been on the job for only a few days and deferred to Chauvin, a nearly 20-year veteran and the senior officer on the scene.
The defense attorney for Lane also noted that he asked Kueng to check Floyd's pulse and administered CPR after an ambulance arrived.
Thao, who is Hmong American, Kueng, who is Black, and Lane, who is white, still face Minnesota state charges in connection with Floyd's death in a trial that is scheduled to begin on June 13.
But in a sign of the importance of the case, federal prosecutors also charged the officers with violating Floyd's constitutional rights.
