Former Minneapolis police officer Thomas Lane was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison and two years of supervised release for depriving George Floyd Jr., of his constitutional rights.
U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson handed down the sentence Thursday, calling the rookie officer’s role in the restraint that ultimately ended Floyd’s life “a very serious offense.”
“The fact that you did not get up and remove Mr. Chauvin when Mr. Floyd became unconscious is a violation of the law,” Magnuson said.
Lane held Floyd’s legs as Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd’s neck with his knee for more than nine minutes on a Minneapolis street in May 2020.
Along with Chauvin and Lane, two other officers, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, were also convicted of violating Floyd’s civil rights–and will be sentenced later.
At Thursday’s sentencing, Floyd’s brother Philonise shared with the court how the former officer’s actions has affected their family.
“Our family was given a death sentence May 25, we will never get George back,” he said according to CNN. “Officer Lane did not intervene in one way or another,” he added.
