ST.  PAUL, Minn.  (AP) – A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced two former Minneapolis police officers convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights to more lenient terms than recommended in sentencing guidelines, calling one a “really rookie officer” and describing the other as “A good police officer, father and husband.”
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sentenced J. Alexander Kueng to three years in prison and Tou Thao to 3.5 years for violating Floyd’s rights on May 25, 2020, killing then-officer Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd’s neck with the his knee for more than nine minutes as the 46-year-old black man said he couldn’t breathe and eventually grew.  The killing, captured on video by bystanders, sparked protests around the world and a reckoning of racial injustice.
Kueng pinned Floyd’s back, Tao restrained concerned bystanders and a fourth officer, Thomas Lane, held Floyd’s legs.  Lane was sentenced last week to two years — also below the guidelines and a sentence his brother Floyd Philonise called “offensive” — while Chauvin was earlier sentenced to 21 years.  Floyd’s family members did not attend Wednesday’s hearings or comment immediately afterward.
The lower sentences for Kueng, who is black, and Thao, who is Hmong American, raise questions about whether they will consider a plea deal or risk a trial in state court on Oct. 24 when they face charges for aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.  Lane, who is white, pleaded guilty to a state charge of accessory to second-degree murder and is awaiting sentencing in that case.
Sentencing guidelines for the federal counts called for 4¼ to 5¼ years for Kueng and 5¼ to 6¼ years for Thao.  For both men, prosecutors sought sentences in that range or longer, arguing in Kueng’s case that he “didn’t say a word” as Floyd lay dying.  They also disputed that Thao’s role was minor, with prosecutor LeeAnn Bell saying he had “a bird’s-eye view of what was going on” with Floyd pinned to the pavement and that he had “years on the force” that meant he should have known better. .  He said Thao sometimes looked directly at Floyd and sometimes had bystanders tell him exactly what was going on.
The federal government brought civil rights charges against all four officers in May 2021, a month after Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter in state court.  They were seen as an affirmation of the Justice Department’s priorities to address racial disparities in policing, a promise made by President Joe Biden before his election.  And they come just a week after federal prosecutors filed hate crime charges in the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and announced two sweeping police investigations in two states.
Magnuson said there was no question that Kueng violated Floyd’s rights by failing to take him down when Floyd became unresponsive.  But he also cited what he called an “incredible number” of letters supporting Kueng that he said came from other officers.
“You really were a rookie officer,” Magnuson told Kueng.
Thao was sentenced at a subsequent hearing, where he spoke for more than 20 minutes, often quoting scripture as he said his arrest and time in prison led him to turn to God, but he did not directly address his actions or speak to the Floyd.  family.  Thao — like Lane and Kueng — remains free on bond, but spent several weeks in jail after his 2020 arrest on the state charges.
Magnuson again acknowledged letters supporting the former officer, including one he said had 744 signatures and cited what he called Tao’s “absolutely clean record.”
“You had a difficult childhood and you did well to be a good police officer, father and husband,” the judge said.
Mark Osler, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and a former federal prosecutor, said before Wednesday’s sentencing hearings that Kueng and Tao would likely seek a plea deal on the state charges that would not exceed the federal sentence and they were allowed to serve the sentences at the same time.
Both men are scheduled to report to federal prison on Oct. 4, though Magnuson noted that could change because of their state trial.  Magnuson said he would recommend they be allowed to serve their time in federal minimum-security facilities in Duluth or Yankton, South Dakota, so they can be near their family.  The final decision rests with the Bureau of Prisons.
Chauvin, who is white, was the most senior officer on the scene and was sentenced to a 22 1/2-year state sentence to run concurrently with his federal sentence.  He has been held in solitary confinement at the state’s maximum-security prison in Oak Park Heights for his own safety since being convicted of murder, and will eventually be transferred to a federal prison.
Associated Press/Report for America reporter Trisha Ahmed contributed.