The Asian reporter., August 01, 2022, Page 9, Image 9

August 1, 2022
U.S.A.
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9
Ex-police Kueng, Thao sentenced for violating Floyd’s rights
SENTENCES ANNOUNCED. In this image
from surveillance video, Minneapolis police officers
— (from left) Tou Thao, Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander
Kueng, and Thomas Lane — are seen attempting to
take George Floyd into custody in Minneapolis, Min-
nesota on May 25, 2020. A federal judge has sen-
tenced two of the former officers who were convicted
of violating George Floyd’s civil rights. (Court TV via
AP, Pool, File)
By Amy Forliti
The Associated Press
S
T. PAUL, Minn. — A federal judge
in late July sentenced two former
Minneapolis police officers who
were convicted of violating George Floyd’s
civil rights to lighter terms than
recommended in sentencing guidelines,
calling one “truly a 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 3½ years
for violating Floyd’s rights in the May 25,
2020 killing in which then-officer Derek
Chauvin pinned Floyd’s neck with his knee
for more than nine minutes as the
46-year-old Black man said he couldn’t
breathe and eventually grew still. The
killing, captured in bystander video,
sparked protests worldwide and a
reckoning of racial injustice.
Kueng pinned Floyd’s back, Thao held
back concerned bystanders, and a fourth
officer, Thomas Lane, held Floyd’s feet.
Lane was sentenced last month to two
years — also below guidelines and a
sentence that Floyd’s brother Philonise
called “insulting” — while Chauvin was
sentenced earlier to 21 years. Floyd’s
immediate family members did not attend
the hearings in person or comment
afterward.
Floyd’s girlfriend, Courteney Ross,
made statements at both men’s sentencing
hearings and said afterward that she was
disappointed, particularly with Thao’s
sentence. It “didn’t really seem to match
the crime to me. I was asking for the
maximum sentence,” she said.
The lower sentences for Kueng, who is
Black, and Thao, who is Hmong American,
raise questions about whether they would
consider a plea deal or risk a state court
trial on October 24, when they face counts
of aiding and abetting second-degree
murder and second-degree manslaughter.
Lane, who is white, pleaded guilty to a
state charge of aiding and abetting
second-degree manslaughter and is
awaiting sentencing in that case.
Federal sentencing guidelines — which
judges do not have to follow —
recommended 4¼ to 5¼ years for Kueng
and 5¼ to 6½ years for Thao. For both men,
prosecutors argued for sentences higher
than that. Prosecutor Manda Sertich
argued that Kueng “didn’t say a word” as
Floyd lay dying. Prosecutor LeeAnn Bell
said Thao had “a bird’s-eye view of what
was going on” with Floyd, and had “years
on the force” that meant he should have
known better.
The federal government brought the
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 inequities in
policing, a promise made by President Joe
Biden before his election. They came a
week after federal prosecutors brought
hate crimes charges in the killing of
25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia
and announced sweeping probes into
policing in Minneapolis and Louisville,
Kentucky.
Magnuson said there was no question
that Kueng violated Floyd’s rights by
failing to get off him when Floyd became
unresponsive. But he also mentioned what
he called “an incredible number” of letters
from other officers supporting Kueng.
“You were truly a rookie officer,”
Magnuson told Kueng.
At his subsequent hearing, Thao spoke
for more than 20 minutes, frequently
quoting from the bible as he said his arrest
and time in jail led him to turn toward god,
but did not directly address his actions or
offer any words to Floyd’s 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 with 744 signatures, and cited what he
called Thao’s “completely clean record.”
“You had a difficult childhood and have
done well to become a good police officer,
father, and husband,” the judge said.
Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights
attorney and activist, said the sentences
were “especially light.”
“This little punishment signals to other
law enforcement officers that they could
receive a slap on the wrist if they violate
people’s rights and engage in extreme
abuse towards defenseless people,” she
said.
But Mark Osler, a professor at the
University of St. Thomas School of Law
and former federal prosecutor, called the
sentences “groundbreaking” and noted
that it’s rare for officers to be held
accountable for killings they didn’t directly
commit.
“We should hope that it has the impact of
changing behavior and prodding them to
intervene when a life can be saved,” he
said.
Osler said it’s likely that Kueng and
Thao will seek a plea deal on the state
charges that would not exceed the federal
sentence and would let them serve the
sentences concurrently.
Both men are due to report to federal
Continued on page 10
Zip, click, pull!
You don’t float. Life
jackets do. The jacket
has to fit to do its job.
Learn how to find the
right jacket for the
right fit.
oregonmetro.gov/watersafety
Parks and nature
Arts and events
Garbage and recycling
Land and transportation
Oregon Zoo