J. Alexander Kueng, one of the Minneapolis cops filmed killing George Floyd in May 2020, pleaded guilty earlier this year to manslaughter and will be sentenced today on the state charge. Unless the judge voids his plea deal, he'll be sentenced to 3 1/2 years for his part in the crime: kneeling on Floyd's back so that fellow officer Derek Chauvin, convicted of murder, could kneel on his neck. Kueng was sentenced to 3 years on federal charges in September. Chauvin, convicted on state and federal charges, will spend 21 years in prison.
Officer Thomas Lane, who held Floyd's legs, was also jailed for three years in September. Officer Tou Thao, who threatened bystanders that tried to intervene in Floyd's murder, was sentenced to 42 months in prison.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020, after former Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd's neck for 9 1/2 minutes as Floyd repeatedly said he couldn't breathe and eventually went limp. The killing, which was recorded on video by a bystander, sparked worldwide protests as part of a broader reckoning over racial injustice.
