Thomas Lane, one of the officers arrested for the murder of George Floyd, has received a 2 1/2 year sentence for violating his civil rights.
According to the Associated Press, Lane was sentenced on Thursday as a federal judge called his role in the restraint that led to George Floyd’s death “a very serious offense in which a life was lost.” Prosecutors asked that he be sentenced to at least 5 1/4 years in prison for his role in the incident.
Lane is currently free on bond and is scheduled to turn himself in on October 4th. He also faces state charges for his role in George Floyds’s death and will be sentenced in September.
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Lane was the officer that held Floyd’s legs as former officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck as he pleaded for him to get off. Judge Paul Magnuson said to Lane that the “fact that you did not get up and remove Mr. Chauvin when Mr. Floyd became unconscious is a violation of the law.”
Prosecutor Manda Sertich argued that Lane should be sentenced to more time and said,
“There has to be a line where blindly following a senior officer’s lead, even for a rookie officer, is not acceptable.”
Judge Magnuson placed fault on the Minneapolis Police Department for placing Lane, who was a rookie cop at the time, with another rookie officer on the call that would ultimately lead to the end of George Floyd’s life. Magnuson also shared that he received 145 letters in support of Lane, saying that he had never received that many letters in support of a defendant.
George Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd was present during Thursday’s sentencing and called the judge’s decision “insulting” and also labeled Lane “an accessory to murder,” and shared that he didn’t get the longest possible sentence.
The other two officers, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, who were also convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights will be sentenced at a later date. As previously reported, earlier this month, Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 21 years for violating George Floyd’s civil rights.
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TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94
