Baller Alert
  • Home
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • The Baller Alert Show
    • Baller Alert Lists
    • Baller Alert Exclusives
    • Let Me Liv
    • Ballerific Music
    • That’s Baller
    • Fashion
    • Metaverse
    • Tech
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Op-Ed
    • Travel
    • Health
  • EVENTS
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • About
  • Political News
  • en español
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • The Baller Alert Show
    • Baller Alert Lists
    • Baller Alert Exclusives
    • Let Me Liv
    • Ballerific Music
    • That’s Baller
    • Fashion
    • Metaverse
    • Tech
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Op-Ed
    • Travel
    • Health
  • EVENTS
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • About
  • Political News
  • en español
No Result
View All Result
Baller Alert
No Result
View All Result

4 Former Minneapolis Officers Indicted on US Civil Rights Charges in George Floyd’s Death

by Iesha
May 7, 2021
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
George Floyd Officers
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Four former Minneapolis officers who participated in the arrest and death of George Floyd were charged by a federal grand jury, accused of knowingly and willingly violating the constitutional rights of the Black man as he was restrained face-down on the ground, gasping for air.

Today, Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Kueng, and Tou Thao were named in a three-count indictment.

Chauvin is accused of infringing on Floyd’s freedom to be free from unlawful seizure and excessive force by a police officer. Floyd’s right to be free from an arbitrary seizure was also violated: Thao and Kueng say they did not intervene to stop Chauvin as he knelt on Floyd’s neck. The failure to provide Floyd with medical attention has been levied against all four officers.

In 2017, Chauvin was indicted in a second indictment for the apprehension and neck restraint of a 14-year-old child.

Lane, Thao, and Kueng appeared in court for the first time via videoconference in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis. Chauvin did not make an appearance in court.

Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter on state charges in Floyd’s death last month and is currently being held in Minnesota’s only maximum-security prison awaiting sentencing. The remaining three retired officers are free on parole and will face a state trial in August. After appearing in federal court on Friday, they were permitted to remain free.

Floyd died on May 25 after Chauvin held him to the ground with a knee on his neck, despite Floyd’s repeated claims that he couldn’t breathe when handcuffed. Kueng and Lane both assisted in Floyd’s restraint, according to state prosecutors. Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back, and Lane kept Floyd’s legs down. According to state prosecutors, Thao pushed bystanders back and prevented them from interfering during the 9 1/2-minute hold.

At Chauvin’s murder trial, his counsel, Eric Nelson, argued that Chauvin acted fairly in the situation and that Floyd died due to ongoing health problems and drug use. He has requested a new trial, citing several concerns, including the judge’s reluctance to move the trial due to the media attention.

Prosecutors must conclude that an officer behaved under the “color of law,” or government authority, and willfully violated someone’s civil rights, such as the right to be free from arbitrary searches or the use of unreasonable force, to bring federal charges in deaths involving cops. That’s a high legal bar to clear; an accident, a lapse of judgment, or plain incompetence on the officer’s part won’t suffice to justify federal charges.

According to Roy Austin, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division who tried such cases., prosecutors must show that the officers knew what they were doing was wrong at the time but did it anyway.

Conviction on a federal civil rights charge carries a sentence of up to life in prison or the death penalty, although such harsh penalties are uncommon, and federal sentencing guidelines depend on complex calculations that mean the officers will receive much less if convicted.

According to Mark Osler, a former federal prosecutor, and professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, if the federal court uses second-degree murder as the underlying crime in Chauvin’s case, he may face anywhere from 14 to slightly more than 24 years in prison, depending on whether he accepts guilt.

The rules explicitly state that every federal sentence will be served concurrently with a state sentence and that the sentences will not stack.

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest

Like this:

Like Loading...

Discover more from Baller Alert

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Tags: Derek ChauvinGeorge FloydMinneapolisNewsThomas LaneTou Thao

Related Posts

LEGO and Nike Unveil 1,180-Piece Dunk Collector’s Set With Sneakerheads In Mind [Video]
News

LEGO and Nike Unveil 1,180-Piece Dunk Collector’s Set With Sneakerheads In Mind [Video]

June 1, 2025

LEGO and Nike are bringing sneaker culture to the brick-building world with their latest creation: the LEGO Nike Dunk Set....

Say Goodbye to Job Corps? Federal Government Pulls Plug on Training Program for Low-Income Youth [Video]
News

Say Goodbye to Job Corps? Federal Government Pulls Plug on Training Program for Low-Income Youth [Video]

May 31, 2025

The future of a critical job training program just got put on hold, literally. This week, the U.S. Department of...

Shocking Study Reveals U.S. Moms' Mental Health Is Crashing—Here’s What’s Really Happening
News

Shocking Study Reveals U.S. Moms’ Mental Health Is Crashing—Here’s What’s Really Happening

May 31, 2025

A new report from JAMA Internal Medicine is raising red flags about the state of mental health for mothers across...

Trump Administration Seeks to End $37B Minority Business Program, Citing Racial Bias Concerns
News

Trump Administration Seeks to End $37B Minority Business Program, Citing Racial Bias Concerns

May 31, 2025

The Trump camp is stepping into the legal fight to shut down a major federal program that’s helped minority-owned businesses...

Next Post
Patrick Thompson

San Francisco Man Charged With Stabbing Two Elderly Asian Women At A Bus Stop

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Baller News

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

* indicates required

Follow Us

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

© Copyright 2024, Baller Alert Inc. All Rights Reserved

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • The Baller Alert Show
    • Baller Alert Lists
    • Baller Alert Exclusives
    • Let Me Liv
    • Ballerific Music
    • That’s Baller
    • Fashion
    • Metaverse
    • Tech
    • Lifestyle
    • Sports
    • Op-Ed
    • Travel
    • Health
  • EVENTS
  • Videos
  • Shop
  • About
  • Political News
  • en español
%d