Former Minneapolis Police Officer Tou Thao has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for aiding and abetting manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in 2020. Thao is reported to have stated at his hearing that he “did not intend on doing any malice or anything like that, or try to hurt anyone” during Floyd’s detainment, as reported by CNN.
The judge presiding over the case, Judge Peter Cahill, referred to Thao’s lack of remorse as a key factor in his sentencing. During the sentencing hearing, Cahill expressed disappointment over Thao’s absence of regret and responsibility acknowledgement after three years of reflection. He made clear that although Thao’s culpability was considered less than Derek Chauvin’s—the officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck—it was above that of the other officers involved.
In May, Thao was found guilty of aiding and abetting manslaughter in relation to George Floyd’s death. With an additional sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights, Thao’s total prison sentence amounts to approximately eight years. Fellow officers involved in the incident, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane, have also received prison sentences, while Derek Chauvin was dealt a 22.5-year sentence for second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
The Minneapolis Police Department has also come under scrutiny from the US Department of Justice (DOJ). In June, the DOJ reported that the department had consistently violated the civil rights of people of color. Recent data from the Washington Post and the University of Chicago’s Law Enforcement Epidemiology Project outlines the heavy racial disparity in police shootings and law enforcement-related violence in the United States.
Read the original article on JURIST.