Tou Thao sentenced to over 4 years for his role in George Floyd's killing

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The fourth and final former Minneapolis police officer charged for his role in George Floyd's murder was sentenced in court on Monday. 

Tou Thao was sentenced to 57 months (4.75 years) in prison with credit for 340 days served on Monday, just three months after he was found guilty of aiding and abetting manslaughter of Floyd's death. Judge Peter Cahill shared his frustration with Thao, giving him a longer sentence than the 51 months prosecutors requested. 

"I was hoping for a little more remorse, regret, acknowledgment of some responsibility. And less preaching," Cahill said to Thao during sentencing. 

Thao is already serving three-and-a-half years behind bars on federal charges for depriving Floyd of his civil rights. Just last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals denied Thao's appeal in that case. He was ordered to serve his two sentences concurrently. 

Previous sentences

Derek Chauvin, who kneeled on Floyd's neck for 9.5 minutes, was convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges in 2021 and is serving 22 ½ years in that case. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years. He is serving the sentences concurrently.

In February 2022, a federal trial jury found Thao and former officers J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane guilty of violating Floyd's civil rights. Kueng was sentenced in federal court to 36 months (three years) in prison followed by two years of supervised release, while Lane was sentenced to 30 months (2.5 years) in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. 

The former Minneapolis police officers faced additional charges in state court for their role in Floyd's death. Kueng pleaded guilty in October 2022 to aiding and abetting manslaughter and received a sentence of 42 months (3.5 years) in prison, which will run concurrently with his federal sentence. 

Meanwhile, Lane pleaded guilty in May 2022 to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and received a sentence of 36 months (three years) in prison, which will also run concurrently with his federal sentence. 

Thao's state conviction followed a rare "stipulated-evidence" trial, leaving his conviction in Judge Cahill's hands. In May, Cahill returned with the guilty verdict after both the prosecution and defense laid out their arguments in court filings and without typical courtroom testimony. Judge Cahill also presided over the trial of Derek Chauvin.