Kueng and Thao were each convicted in February of violating Floyd’s civil rights and failing to intervene to stop their colleague Derek Chauvin during the restraint. Prosecutors asked the court in June to sentence Kueng and Thao to “significantly more” time than the range applicable to former police officer Thomas Lane, but less time than Chauvin’s 21-year sentence. Thao’s defense team asked for a 2-year sentence, while Kueng’s defense team submitted its recommendation under seal. In court Wednesday, Magnuson said Kueng was a new officer who delegated the authority of a “very senior officer.” Magnuson wrote in a court filing last week that Kueng and Thao “made a tragic misdiagnosis in their assessment” of Floyd. “The evidence showed that Kueng genuinely believed that Mr. Floyd was suffering from excited delirium with a drug overdose, and Thao genuinely believed that the officers were dealing with a drug overdose with possible excited delirium,” he wrote. Kueng declined to make a statement in court. The conviction comes more than two years after Lane, Thao and Kueng were fired and arrested for their actions — or lack thereof — in May 2020 as Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck and back. who was handcuffed and lying down. stomach, for more than nine minutes. During the arrest, Kueng held Floyd’s torso, Lane held Floyd’s legs, and Thao stood nearby holding back a crowd of upset bystanders. The horrifying video of the incident and Floyd’s ignored pleas for help went viral and started an international protest movement against police brutality and violence against Black people. At their federal trial in February, Lane, Kueng and Thao each testified defense attorneys emphasized Chauvin’s role in bringing about the situation. Kueng told jurors he deferred to Chauvin on what to do during the arrest because Chauvin was the senior officer on the scene with more than 15 years of experience. Thao told the court that he assumed the other officers at the scene were “looking after” Floyd and that his role had shifted to crowd and traffic control. When prosecutors asked Thao during cross-examination why he didn’t tell Chauvin to get off Floyd’s neck, he said, “I think I would trust a 19-year veteran to figure that out.” Additionally, Thou and Kueng face a state trial in October on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree involuntary manslaughter and aiding and abetting second-degree murder. They pleaded not guilty. Last month, Lane pleaded guilty in state court to aiding and abetting second-degree murder. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors and the defense agreed to jointly recommend a 3-year sentence to be served concurrently with his federal sentence in a federal institution, according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison’s office. CNN’s Brad Parks contributed to this report.
