A few weeks ago former Minneapolis, MN police officer Tou Thao was convicted of Aiding and Abetting Second Degree Murder for his participation in the George Floyd case. This conviction ended the initial trials of all four involved police officers. For now, only time in prison and likely unsuccessful appeals remain.
The George Floyd case involved Minneapolis police officers: Derek Chauvin, Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao. Each officer played a different role and there were varying levels of criminal liability that were bestowed onto the officers.
The difference with Officer Thao is that he had no physical contact with Mr. Floyd. Officer Thao was on crowd control duty. His conviction should be a warning to all other law enforcement officers in the United States.
Their Roles
Officer Chauvin controlled Mr. Floyd’s upper back and pressed his knee against his neck/upper back/shoulder area.
Officer Kueng controlled Mr. Floyd’s middle back area.
Officer Lane controlled Mr. Floyd’s legs/feet.
Officer Thao was managing an angry crowd.
Chauvin
Officer Chauvin had no intent to kill Mr. Floyd. However, he did utilize excessive/unnecessary force. Force was necessary to control Mr. Floyd. If officers did not hold down/control Mr. Floyd and he was able to stand up and run into traffic the officers would be liable if he was struck by a car. However, the force needed to control Mr. Floyd could have been achieved in a myriad of other ways. To me - this is indisputable.
Officer Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison for his role. This sentence is excessive for an accidental death.
Keung
Officer Kueng had no intent to kill Mr. Floyd. What Officer Kueng actually did - had no role in the death of Mr. Floyd. He was charged under the theory that he had a “duty to intervene”. The question - if Officer Chauvin did not think he was killing Mr. Floyd - how would Officer Kueng have this knowledge?
Officer Kueng was sentenced to 3.5 years in federal prison. This sentence is excessive for not having the foresight/psychic ability to know what would happen to Mr. Floyd. There are drunk drivers who kill people who serve less time than this.
Lane
Like Officer Kueng - Officer Lane had no intent to kill Mr. Floyd. Officer Lane should have been even less culpable than Officer Kueng - as he was not next to Officer Chauvin. Officer Lane was controlling the feet of Mr. Floyd, and because Officer Kueng was in between them - likely had no direct view (or a partially obstructed view) of what Officer Chauvin was doing. Officer Lane had no role in the death of Mr. Floyd. He was also charged under the theory that he had a “duty to intervene”. The same question is relevant - if Officer Chauvin (and Officer Kueng) did not think he was killing Mr. Floyd - how would Officer Lane possess this knowledge?
Officer Lane was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison. Officer Lane should not have been charged in this case. This was a purely political prosecution.
Thao
Officer Thao had no intent to kill Mr. Floyd. Officer Thao had no physical contact with Mr. Floyd. Officer Thao was on crowd control duty. The crowd was angry and increasingly aggressive. Now, I do not fault the crowd for their frustration as Officer Chauvin was using excessive force. I will never fault individuals who call out and vocally oppose obvious bad/illegal police behavior.
However, I also understand that Officer Thao wanted to keep the crowd away from the other officers and Mr. Floyd. The idea of random bystanders approaching the officers and interfering can only make situation worse. Also, if officers are worried about being attacked by a mob of ten angry people - they cannot focus their attention on the person that they are trying to control. An argument could be made that if the officers were not distracted by an angry crowd - that they could have dedicated their focus on Mr. Floyd. Certainly Officer Thao would have been able to devote attention to what was happening to Mr. Floyd - instead of reasonably trying to hold back a mob.
Officer Thao was sentenced to 3.5 years in federal prison. Officer Thao never should have been charged in this case. This was a purely political prosecution.
Final Thoughts
It is important for the police to have the support and trust of the community. This case destroyed years of hard work by police officers across the country.
Officers throughout the U.S. were battered, assaulted, and demonized due to the actions of Officer Chauvin. This is obviously illogical - it is like blaming all black people for the actions of Darrell Brooks, or all white people for the actions of Timothy McVeigh, or all nurses for the actions of RaDonda Vaught, or all women for the actions of Lori Vallow Daybell. It is a bad idea to attach all people who look alike/have the same job to the worst amongst them. This is an annoying cousin of discrimination and we should stop doing it.
Current and prospective police officers should pay particular attention to what happened to Officers Lane and Thao. The idea that you could have no direct role in a death but be criminally prosecuted for not possessing the psychic ability to know what another officer is doing - is very real.
This is not about eyes in the back of your head but Miss Cleo’s intuition imprinted on your psyche.
George Floyd’s death was tragic and unnecessary and in truth - the fentanyl that he ingested before contact with police may have killed him anyway1. But a community consisting of police officers and concerned citizens cannot heal by prosecuting people who did not directly cause harm.
If the goal is to further divide and sow mistrust - this was a brilliant way to achieve that sick outcome.
Mr. Floyd had 3x the “lethal dose” of fentanyl in his system at the time of his death.
Always felt bad for those officers. Caught up in a case that was never going to go their way, and led to tragedy by a senior cop who screwed them.
Totally unjust in my opinion.