(Sub)Culture
J. Alexander Kueng, already serving a three-year sentence on civil rights violations, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death
The former Minneapolis police officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s back and restrained him was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison Friday after previously pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter in connection to Floyd’s killing on May 25, 2020.
J. Alexander Kueng — already behind bars at a Lisbon, Ohio prison on a three-year federal prison sentence for violating Floyd’s civil rights — pleaded guilty in October as part of a plea bargain to avoid an aiding and abetting murder charge.
Kueng kneeled on the handcuffed Floyd’s back and restrained him while former officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for nine-and-a-half minutes, resulting in the death of the 46-year-old Floyd.
The Associated Press reports that the federal and state prison sentences against Kueng will run concurrently, and with time served already factored in, he could be released within two-and-a-half years.
George Floyd’s legal team said in a statement Friday following Kueng’s sentencing, “The sentencing of Alexander Kueng for his role in the murder of George Floyd delivers yet another piece of justice for the Floyd family. While the family faces yet another holiday season without George, we hope that moments like these continue to bring them a measure of peace, knowing that George’s death was not in vain.”
Chauvin is currently serving a 22-and-a-half-year sentence after being convicted of murder and manslaughter; he was also sentenced to 21 years on a federal charge of violating Floyd’s civil rights, which runs concurrently with the state sentence.
Former Minneapolis Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, both of whom prevented bystanders from intervening and helping Floyd, are both also serving roughly three-year prison sentences for their role in Floyd’s death. Lane was also sentenced to three years after being convicted of state charges, while Thao, who didn’t plead guilty to state charges, is instead facing a stipulated evidence trial — or a trial without a jury — on aiding and abetting murder charges.