Ex-Minneapolis officer sentenced to 3.5 years over George Floyd charges

Former Minneapolis police officer J. Alexander Kueng was sentenced Friday to three.5 years in jail over state prices for his involvement in George Floyd’s loss of life.

Driving the information: Kueng pleaded responsible to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in October.

• Kueng agreed to the three.5-year sentence underneath the plea deal after prosecutors mentioned they might drop one depend of aiding and abetting second-degree homicide.
• As a part of the plea settlement, Kueng admitted that he knowingly assisted in restraining Floyd by holding his torso regardless of figuring out the substantial danger of loss of life resulting from positional asphyxia. He additionally acknowledged that such a restraint was unreasonable underneath the circumstances and constituted an illegal use of drive.

Price noting: Kueng and fellow former Minneapolis officer Tou Thao had beforehand rejected a plea deal.

The massive image: Floyd’s loss of life sparked mass protests in opposition to police brutality and anti-Blackness throughout the nation.

• After a separate federal civil rights trial, Kueng and Thao, together with former officer Thomas Lane, had been convicted in January of violating Floyd’s civil rights by failing to intervene as their then-colleague Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for over 9 minutes.
• Thao has agreed to a trial by stipulated proof, that means he waived his proper to a jury and to testify. A decide will determine the decision.

Go deeper: Minneapolis marks 2 years since George Floyd’s homicide

Editor’s observe: This story has been up to date with extra background.