A federal judge sentenced former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane to 30 months in prison for violating George Floyd’s civil rights in his 2020 death. Lane was one of three officers charged with violating Floyd’s civil rights for not intervening when former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, leading to his death. Lane was also convicted in February for depriving Floyd of medical care during his arrest. Prosecutors had asked for six-and-a-half years in prison.
Lane was only on his fourth day of the police force during Floyd’s arrest, and was heard on body camera video asking the other officers if they should turn Floyd over, and that he was concerned. The former officer pleaded guilty to the state’s charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. He agreed to three years behind bars and is expected to be sentenced for the state’s charge on Sept. 21.
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