A former Minneapolis police officer has pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd.
As part of the plea deal, Thomas Lane will have a count of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder dismissed.
Lane, along with other ex-officers J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao, has already been convicted on federal counts of wilfully violating Floyd‘s rights during the restraint that led to the black man’s death in May 2020.
The state is recommending a three-year jail term for Lane – which is below state sentencing guidelines – and has agreed to allow him to serve the time in a federal prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on 21 September.
Lane has not yet been sentenced in the federal case.
Floyd, 46, was killed after former policeman Derek Chauvin put a knee on his neck and pinned him to the ground, with Floyd saying he couldn’t breathe.
Lane and Kueng helped to restrain Floyd, who was handcuffed. Lane held down Floyd’s legs and Kueng knelt on his back. Thao kept bystanders from intervening during the restraint which lasted more than nine minutes.
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Chauvin was convicted in June 2021 of state charges of murder and manslaughter and sentenced to 22-and-a-half years.
He pleaded guilty in December 2021 to a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights and faces a federal sentence ranging from 20 to 25 years after the judge accepted a plea deal earlier this month.
Lane was convicted along with Kueng and Thao of federal charges in February, after a month-long trial.
All three were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care and Thao and Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin during the killing.
Floyd’s death was caught on video and sparked racial injustice protests in Minneapolis and around the world.
