MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Among the four former Minneapolis police officers convicted of violating the civil rights of George Floyd during the restraint that killed him in May 2020 Two are scheduled to begin serving federal sentences on Tuesday.
J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao are scheduled to report to the U.S. Marshals Service Tuesday morning. The Bureau of Prisons typically assigns them to federal facilities, but authorities have yet to say publicly where they will go. They are scheduled to stand trial later this month on charges of aiding and abetting murder and manslaughter.
The information left to their lawyers was not returned. The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office said it expected Kueng and Thao to be handed over to it for trial, but gave no further details for security reasons. The U.S. Marshals Service said the officers were not detained on Monday.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons said no information could be released about Kueng and Thao until they reached their destination. But in the cases of their co-defendants — former police officers Derek Chauvin and Thomas Lane — the federal prison allocations were made public before the men were reported for custody.
There is no indication in public records that the federal sentencing of Kueng and Thao has been delayed.
Earlier this year, Kueng, Thao and Lane were convicted of denying Floyd access to health care after the 46-year-old black man was handcuffed under Chauvin’s knee for 9 1/2 minutes while wearing a Handcuffed and face down on the street. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, Lane held his leg, and Thao asked bystanders to step back.
Thao and Kueng were also convicted of a second count for failing to intervene and stop Chauvin during the killing, which was captured on bystander video and sparked global protests as part of a reckoning of racial injustice. part.
In July, U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson sentenced Kueng to three years in prison and Thao to 3.5 years in prison on federal charges. After they were sentenced, questions were raised about whether they would reach a plea deal on state aid and abetting charges. But they told Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill in August that they rejected a plea deal in the state case.
Their state trial begins in October. 24 jury selection; opening speech scheduled for Nov. 7.
Lane avoided a state trial in May by pleading guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to three years in prison for state crimes and 2 1/2 years for federal crimes. He served concurrently in a low-security federal prison concentration camp in Littleton, Colorado.
Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter and sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison in 2021. He also pleaded guilty to federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years in prison on federal charges. He is also serving time at the federal correctional facility in Tucson, Arizona.
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Find The Associated Press’ full coverage of George Floyd’s killing at: https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd