The three former Minneapolis police officers who are accused of violating the civil rights of George Floyd, a Black man who died after he was pinned down by a white Minneapolis officer for close to 10 minutes, were found guilty by a jury on Thursday.
The former officers — Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane — were each charged with deprivation of rights under color of law for depriving the right of medical care to Floyd while he was pinned down by their colleague, officer Derek Chauvin.
Kueng and Thao were also charged with failing to intervene when excessive force was used by Chauvin to stop Floyd.
A sentencing date for the three officers has not yet been set, but, until then, all three will be allowed to remain free on bond, The New York Times reported.
All three could face up to life in prison.
“Today’s verdict recognizes that two police officers violated the Constitution by failing to intervene to stop another officer from killing George Floyd, and three officers violated the Constitution by failing to provide aid to Mr. Floyd in time to prevent his death,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
“The Justice Department will continue to seek accountability for law enforcement officers whose actions, or failure to act, violate their constitutional duty to protect the civil rights of our citizens. George Floyd should be alive today,” he continued.
During the encounter between police and Floyd, Floyd’s legs and torso were restrained by Lane and Kueng, according to CNN. Thao testified during the case that he was in a roadway nearby to serve as crowd control.
Chauvin, meanwhile, pinned his knee on Floyd’s neck for nine and a half minutes, killing Floyd. Footage of his death circulated online and sparked protests over criminal justice and police brutality across the United States.
During the trial, prosecutors accused the three of doing nothing to stop Floyd from being killed, saying that officers “directly contributed to [Floyd’s] death and failed to intervene to stop the senseless murder” and citing bystander footage.
However, the officers during their testimony justified the actions taken during the police encounter. Lane testified that he believed the arrest “seemed reasonable at the time,” adding “this guy is out of control.”
Thao testified that while he had heard Floyd say “I can’t breathe,” he said that he could not see what would have stopped Floyd from being able to breathe from his vantage point on the roadway. He also claimed that because officers had not tried to perform CPR on him, he presumed he was not in cardiac arrest.
The former officers’ defenses of their conduct also included the claims that they had deferred to the seniority of Chauvin, having had little experience themselves — both Kueng and Lane were only days into their new job — and that training that had not been consistent, according to CNN.
The three also face a separate court trial on June 13, in which the three have been accused of aiding and abetting the murder of Floyd.
Civil rights activists applauded the decision on Thursday.
“The convictions of the 3 officers on Federal Civil Rights charges is a huge victory for civil rights and police reform. It sends a clear definitive message to police they cannot cooperate w/ police criminality,” the Rev. Al Sharpton tweeted.
—Updated at 9:45 p.m.