A former Minneapolis police officer who kept bystanders away from George Floyd while another officer pinned him to the ground with his knee at the Black man’s neck has been found guilty of aiding and abetting manslaughter.
The conviction of Tou Thao Is the latest involving the four now-former officers uninvolved with Floyd’s murder on 25 May 2020, which galvanised an international movement against police violence.
Tou Thao, who already had been convicted in federal court of violating Floyd’s civil rights, was the last of four former officers facing judgment in state court in Floyd’s killing.
He rejected a plea agreement and, instead of going to trial, let Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill decide the verdict based on written filings by each side and evidence presented in previous cases.
“There is proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Thao’s actions were objectively unreasonable from the perspective of a reasonable police officer, when viewed under the totality of the circumstances,”
Cahill wrote in a 177-page ruling that was filed Monday night and released Tuesday
The guilty verdict means that all four of the officers who took part in the fatal restraint of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, have been convicted on both state and federal charges.
Thao’s state case was the last of the multiple trials related to Floyd’s death, which was captured on video and set off worldwide protests objecting to police violence against Black people.
Minnesota’s attorney general Keith Ellison said Thao’s conviction is “historic and the right outcome”.
“While we have now reached the end of the prosecution of Floyd’s murder, it is not behind us,” he said.
“There is much more that prosecutors, law-enforcement leaders, rank-and-file officers, elected officials, and community can do to bring about true justice in law enforcement,” he said.
Thao waived his right to a jury trial in the Minnesota case, opting instead for Judge Cahill to determine the verdict.
He also waived the right to testify and question witnesses.
His sentencing for the manslaughter charge has been scheduled for 7 August.
