Former Minneapolis Police Officer sentenced to 2.5 years in prison

Courtesy of: Minneapolis Police Department
Courtesy of: Minneapolis Police Department

(Minneapolis, MN) -- A former Minneapolis Police Office is being sentenced to 30 months in prison for depriving George Floyd of his constitutional rights.

A federal jury in St. Paul, Minnesota found former Minneapolis Police Officer Thomas Lane guilty of depriving George Floyd of his right to "be free from a police officer's deliberate indifference to serious medical needs", according to a statement made by the U.S Department of Justice. As a result, Lane is sentenced to 30 months, or 2.5 years, in prison, along with two years of supervised released. 

“The tragic death of George Floyd makes clear the fatal consequences that can result from a police officer’s failure to intervene to protect people in their custody,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Had this defendant and other officers on the scene with Derek Chauvin taken simple steps, George Floyd would be alive today."

The same federal jury also found former Minneapolis Police Officers Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng guilty of violating George Floyd's civil rights. A sentencing date for both Thao and Kueng is currently not scheduled.