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Based on multiple reports, Thomas Lane, a former Minneapolis police officer, was found guilty in 2020 of violating George Floyd's civil rights. He was sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison in the early hours of Thursday, 21 July 2022.
Lane, 39, is one of three former Minneapolis police officers who were found guilty earlier this year of denying George Floyd access to medical attention.
Senior officer Derek Chauvin held the shackled and unarmed 46-year-old Floyd, a Black man, under his knee for more than nine minutes on May 25, 2020. Floyd's recorded murder in Minneapolis spurred anti-racism riots and calls for police reform across the country.
Lane's lawyer proposed a two-year and four-month prison sentence for him. However, prosecutors urged U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson to sentence Thomas Lane to serve six years and six months in prison.
George Floyd's brothers are dissatisfied with the Lane's reduced sentencing
Reportedly, under federal probation standards, assuming good behavior, Lane's sentence would result in only two years in jail. George Floyd's brother, Philonise Floyd, voiced his displeasure with the judge's decision following the sentencing.
Philonise said:
"I think it's insulting that he didn't get the maximum amount of time."
Philonise Floyd criticized Lane for receiving a sentence that was shorter than the guidelines. He said that he felt so as the latter lacked empathy and compassion.
Floyd's brother said:
"The problems still are going to exist until we take the corruption out of these courts."
The sentencing has also drawn criticism from Floyd's nephew, Brandon Williams. He alleges that Lane conducted CPR on the ambulance but not when George Floyd was still alive despite knowing what to do.
Williams said:
"I'm angry and fed up"
Two former Minneapolis officers also allegedly failed to safeguard Flyod's life
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said that George Floyd's death illustrates the potentially lethal implications of a police officer's failure to act to safeguard someone in their custody.
In a statement after the sentencing, Clark said:
"Had this defendant and other officers on the scene with Derek Chauvin taken simple steps, George Floyd would be alive today. This sentence should send a message that protecting people in custody is the affirmative duty and obligation of every law enforcement officer, regardless of one's rank or seniority."
J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Tou Thao, 35, were also found guilty of failing to act to stop 46-year-old Chauvin from inflicting physical harm on Floyd. Both Kueng and Thao are former Minneapolis police officers.
Lane, Kueng, and Thao each testified during their trial in February in an effort to place the blame on Chauvin, a 19-year Minneapolis Police Department veteran. Reportedly, Kueng and Thao's sentence dates have not yet been determined by Magnuson.
The jury returned its verdict after nearly 13 hours of deliberation.
After altering his plea to guilty to a lesser charge of aiding and abetting homicide, Lane will now be sentenced separately in state court on September 21.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said the prosecution agreed to drop the main charge against the defendant, who was complicit in second-degree unintentional murder, in exchange for the plea.
