Judged Involved In The Murder Of George Floyd, Former Minneapolis Police Sentenced To Prison

President Joe Biden received the family of the late George Floyd at the White House. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - Former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao was sentenced to 4 3/4 years in prison for helping and conspiring in the murder of a black man, George Floyd, in 2020, after a policeman clamped his neck to the ground.

The sentence handed down by Hennepin County District Judge Peter totaled higher than the 4-1/4-year lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

"I hope there will be a little regret, regret, acknowledgment of responsibility",village said before imposing a sentence.

This sentence will coincide with the 3 1/2-year sentence Thao previously received on federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights.

Earlier,ola in May found Thao guilty of one charge of assisting and conspiring in a second-degree murder for his role in Floyd's death.

Thao, a veteran of the police for nine years, was the fourth and last officer to be sentenced to the murder case.

"I have no intention of committing a crime or... trying to hurt anyone. It was never my intention. I did the best I thought I could," Thao said in court before being sentenced.

It is known that George Floyd died after a white policeman, Derek Chauvin, was recorded in a video pressing his neck for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020.

In that incident, Thao detained a small crowd of residents, as Chauvin and two other officers beat Floyd, who was suspected by police of using USD 20 counterfeit banknotes at one of the stores not far from the site.

Two other officers at the scene, Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng, held back Floyd's knees and buttocks.

Chauvin himself was later found guilty of murder in 2021. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in state prison for an unintentional second-degree murder of Floyd. Last year, he received a 21-year prison sentence on federal charges of violating Floyd's civil rights.

Lane and Kueng last year pleaded guilty in state courts, on charges of helping and conspiring in second-degree murder. Lane was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. Kueng was sentenced to three years.

In a federal court last year, Kueng and Lane were also found guilty of violating Floyd's civil rights. Lane was sentenced to 2 1/2 years and Kueng was sentenced to three years in federal prison, which will be carried out in conjunction with state sentences.

The murder of George Floyd sparked a wave of protests over racism and police brutality across the United States and around the world.