Former officer who held down George Floyd’s legs gets 3 years in prison for aiding and abetting manslaughter

By Eric Levenson and Brad Parks, CNN

(CNN) - The former Minneapolis Police officer who held down George Floyd's legs in May 2020 was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday on a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death.

Thomas Lane, who is currently in federal prison for violating Floyd's civil rights during his fatal restraint, appeared to the hearing remotely wearing beige prison clothing. He began his federal 2.5-year sentence in a Bureau of Prisons facility in Colorado late last month.

The former officer did not address the court Wednesday. Lane received credit for 31 days already served. Prosecutors did not ask for restitution as part of the sentence.

Lane was one of three former officers to face state charges of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder related to Floyd's death. In June, Lane pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge as part of a plea deal in which state and defense attorneys jointly recommended a sentence of three years to be served concurrently with his federal time, according to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office.

A victim impact statement was read by prosecutors Wednesday on behalf of Floyd's family. "We want everyone here today to know we will never move on," prosecutor Matthew Frank read. "You will always show up for George Floyd, but never move on."

The sentence comes more than two years after former officers Lane, Tou Thao and J. Alexander Kueng were first arrested for their actions -- or lack thereof -- in May 2020 as their colleague Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into the neck and back of Floyd, who was handcuffed and lying on his stomach, for more than nine minutes.

Lane, a rookie officer in his fourth day on the job, held down Floyd's legs during the arrest, while Kueng restrained his torso and Thao stood nearby and held back a crowd of upset bystanders.

An ambulance eventually arrived and first responders lifted Floyd, who was limp at that point, into the vehicle. Lane joined them in the ambulance and performed CPR on Floyd.

Defense attorney Earl Gray said Lane agreed to plead guilty to the state charge because he faced a mandatory 12-year sentence if he were to be convicted of the most serious murder charge. He also noted that Minnesota law allows defendants to be released from custody after serving two-thirds of a sentence.

"My client did not want to risk losing the murder case so he decided to plead guilty to manslaughter with a 3-year sentence, to be released in 2 years, and the murder case dismissed," Gray said in June. "The sentence will be concurrent with his federal sentence and he will serve his time in a federal institution. He has a newborn baby and did not want to risk not being part of the child's life."

What has happened with the other former officers

Harrowing video taken by a bystander showed Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, desperately pleading for them to let him breathe and calling for his mother before he lost consciousness and died. Outrage over the incident led to an international protest movement against the ways that police treat Black citizens. All four officers were fired and charged after Floyd's death.

The city of Minneapolis agreed to pay Floyd's estate $27 million after the city council in March 2021 voted to settle a lawsuit with his family.

In federal court earlier this year, Lane testified that he asked Chauvin twice to reposition Floyd while restraining him but was denied both times.

Lane, Thao and Kueng were each convicted of violating Floyd's civil rights during the fatal restraint. Thao and Kueng were also found guilty of an additional federal charge earlier this year for failing to intervene to stop Chauvin. Thao and Kueng were sentenced to 3.5 years and 3 years in federal prison, respectively.

Thao and Kueng still face a state trial that is slated for late October on charges of aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. They have pleaded not guilty.

Chauvin was convicted in state court last year of murder in Floyd's death and was sentenced to more than 22 years in prison. As part of a plea agreement, Chauvin pleaded guilty in December to federal civil rights charges related to Floyd's death and the restraint of a teenager in a separate incident.

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