The former Minneapolis police officer who helped hold down George Floyd while ex-cop Derek Chauvin murdered him accepted a plea deal on Monday in the state case against him. J. Alexander Kueng pleaded to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in exchange for a prison sentence of 3.5 years, according to the Associated Press.
Kueng's plea is the second in the state trial against the four former officers linked to Floyd's death. Thomas Lane, another ex-cop who helped hold Floyd down, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to three years in prison in September.
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No plea deal has yet been announced for Tou Thao, the officer on Floyd’s murder scene who kept the crowd at bay. Thao reportedly told the judge it “would be lying” to accept a plea deal.
Robert Paule, Thao's attorney, said in court proceedings covered by the Star-Tribune that Thao is agreeing to a trial by "stipulated evidence" on count two only, which is aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. "This means that Thao is giving up his right to a jury trial," Star-Tribune reporter Kim Hyatt tweeted. Judge Peter Cahill will decide a verdict after reviewing evidence in the case, and he said he will have that verdict within 90 days.
Cahill said Thao’s trial—and Kueng’s as well, for that matter—was planned to begin on Monday morning, but he understands things have "taken a different course," Hyatt tweeted.
In the federal case against the ex-officers, Kueng was sentenced to three years, and Thao was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Lane was sentenced to 30 months, and Chauvin pleaded guilty to depriving Floyd of his civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison.
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Essentially the federal sentences are the same for all of Chauvin's peers on the scene, Paul Blume, a Fox 9 reporter, tweeted. Kueng's state sentence of 42 months, for which he will actually be in prison for two-thirds of, will be served concurrently with his federal sentence, Blume reported.
Kueng testified during the federal trial that he "was not a fan of police whatsoever" before he decided to join their ranks to "step up" and respond to citizens the way they deserve. He said in testimony covered by Fox 9 that he comes from a diverse family with two adopted brothers, two adopted sisters, a white mom, and a Black dad. The jury heard from Joni Kueng, Kueng’s mom, who testified that her son is compassionate and law-abiding.
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Kueng testified that officers are taught to make sure the scene is secure before beginning CPR and that "there's no metric as to when safe … it's up to the officers involved," KSTP reported.
Watch analysis of Thao’s testimony in the state trial against him below: