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UNSPECIFIED LOCATION AND DATE: (EDITORS NOTE: Best quality available) In this handout provided by Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao poses for a mugshot after being charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd. The death sparked riots and protests in cities throughout the country after Floyd, a black man, was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. (Photo by Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office via Getty Images)
The last former police officer involved in George Floyd’s death has been sentenced for his role in the police killing.
“I did not commit these crimes,” Thao said in court. “My conscience is clear. I will not be a Judas nor join a mob in self-preservation or betray my God.”
Judge Cahill stated he would have liked to have heard some repentance from the former police officer at the sentencing and admonished Thao for not taking the opportunity to do so.
“After three years of reflection, I was hoping for a little more remorse, regret, acknowledgment of some responsibility — and less preaching,” he said.
Thao was sentenced to 57 months in prison. The standard sentence is 48 months. Prosecutors requested 51 months, while Thao’s attorney, Robert Paule, had asked for 41 months.
His time will run concurrently with a three 1/2-year sentence he is currently serving for his conviction on a federal civil rights charge. The former police officer appealed the decision, but it was upheld. Thao will remain in federal prison to complete that sentence, and after finishing, he will be transferred to a Minnesota state prison to serve out the remaining sentence with credit for time served.
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Source: Black Enterprise
