Ex-Minneapolis officer involved in George Floyd's death released from prison

George Floyd's murder: Kueng pleads guilty; Thao will have 'stipulated evidence' trial

One of the final two former Minneapolis police officers facing state charges in the murder of George Floyd has pleaded guilty. J. Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty Monday morning to aiding and abetting manslaughter – the day his and co-defendant Tou Thao’s trial was set to begin with jury selection.

LISBON, Ohio (FOX 9) - One of the former Minneapolis police officers convicted for the murder of George Floyd was released from federal prison.

J. Alexander Kueng, one of the former Minneapolis police officers involved in the murder of Floyd, was released from prison on Wednesday, Jan. 15, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website.

J. Alexander Kueng released from prison

The backstory:

Kueng was sentenced to 42 months (3.5 years) in prison for aiding and abetting manslaughter, which ran concurrent to his three-year federal sentence for violating Floyd's civil rights.

He was released from a federal prison in Lisbon, Ohio.

Body camera footage played in court showed Kueng kneeling on Floyd's back while he was restrained on May 25, 2020.

Kueng was one of four officers charged and convicted in Floyd's murder.

Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao. J Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane. The four former Minneapolis police officers are charged in the death of George Floyd. (FOX 9 / FOX 9)

Former officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, killing him.

Chauvin was sentenced to 270 months, or 22.5 years, in prison for the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. However, Chauvin was only sentenced on the most serious of those charges, second-degree unintentional murder.

A federal judge also sentenced Chauvin to 252 months in prison (21 years) for violating Floyd's civil rights, but gave Chauvin seven months off that tenure because of his time spent in isolation in state prison. That sentence also ran concurrent to the state's sentence.

Murder of George Floyd

Local perspective:

The final moments of Floyd’s life gave birth to a global reckoning on police brutality.

Floyd's murder also led to a Department of Justice federal consent decree meant to enforce reform within the Minneapolis Police Department.

The protests and riots in Minneapolis after Floyd's murder led to hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and a Minnesota National Guard deployment.

The Source: The Federal Bureau of Prisons and FOX 9's previous reporting.

Death of George Floyd Crime and Public Safety Minneapolis Ohio