Tou Thao, a former Minneapolis police officer who stopped concerned bystanders from intervening as one of his colleagues fatally knelt on George Floyd’s neck, was sentenced on Monday (August 7) to 4 years and 9 months in prison.
The sentencing comes after Hennepin County District judge Peter Cahill found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting manslaughter in the 2020 killing of Floyd, per Reuters.
“Like the bystanders, Thao could see Floyd’s life slowly ebbing away as the restraint continued,” Cahill previously said. “Yet Thao made a conscious decision to actively participate in Floyd’s death: he held back the concerned bystanders and even prevented an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter from rendering the medical aid Floyd so desperately needed.”
On May 25, 2020, Thao was among the officers at the scene when now-former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. Body camera footage shows Thao telling bystanders “This is why you don’t do drugs, kids” and directing an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter to “back off” when she asked to check Floyd’s pulse.
Thao has already been convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison. He will serve his 4 year, nine month prison sentence concurrently with his federal sentence.
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