OCTOBER 25, 2022:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Another long and painful trial over the killing of George Floyd has been averted after one former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty and another agreed to let a judge decide his fate. J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were set to stand trial Monday (Oct. 24, 2022) on charges of aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter. Instead, Kueng pleaded guilty to the manslaughter count. Thao took a different approach — his attorneys and prosecutors will agree to the evidence on the manslaughter count and let a judge decide whether Thao is guilty. If he’s convicted, the murder count will be dropped. Experts say the approach, called a stipulated evidence trial, is uncommon but makes sense in some legal situations.
OCTOBER 24, 2022:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Another former Minneapolis police officer has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd. J. Alexander Kueng entered the plea Monday (Oct. 24, 2022) just as jury selection was about to begin in his trial. In exchange, a count of aiding and abetting murder will be dismissed. Kueng is the second officer to plead guilty to the state charge. Thomas Lane earlier pleaded guilty to the same count. Kueng, Lane and Tou Thao have already been convicted and sentenced on federal counts of violating the civil rights of Floyd, who was Black. Their former colleague, Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder last year in Floyd’s May 2020 killing and also pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights violation.
OCTOBER 3, 2022:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two of the four former Minneapolis police officers who were convicted of violating George Floyd’s civil rights are scheduled to begin serving their federal sentences Tuesday (Oct. 4, 2022). J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao are scheduled to report to the U.S. Marshals Service on Tuesday morning. The Bureau of Prisons typically would assign them to a federal facility, but it’s not yet known where they will go. Kueng and Thao are scheduled to go to trial on state charges of aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter later this month. Messages left with their attorneys as well as with several law enforcement officials have not been returned.
JUNE 2022:
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota prosecutors and a defense attorney for one of two former Minneapolis police officers who still face a state trial in George Floyd’s killing have made dueling requests for a new trial date. Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng are charged with aiding and abetting both murder and manslaughter. Their trial was supposed to start earlier this month, but Judge Peter Cahill postponed it until January. Now, the state is requesting a speedy trial on behalf of Floyd’s family. Under Minnesota law, that means the trial could start in mid-August. But Kueng’s defense attorney is seeking a delay until April. Cahill will hold a hearing on the issue Tuesday morning. Thao and Kueng already were convicted of federal counts of violating Floyd’s rights.
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