By CNN —
A Minnesota judge found former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter for his role in keeping bystanders back in the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, according to court documents filed Monday.
In a 177-page verdict, Judge Peter Cahill wrote that Thao “actively encouraged his three colleagues’ dangerous prone restraint of Floyd” contrary to his training that the positioning could cause fatal asphyxia.
“Like the bystanders, Thao could see Floyd’s life slowly ebbing away as the restraint continued,” Cahill wrote in the verdict.
“Yet Thao made a conscious decision to actively participate in Floyd’s death: he held back the concerned bystanders and even prevented an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter from rendering the medical aid Floyd so desperately needed.”
The guilty verdict means that all four of the officers who took part in the fatal restraint of Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, have been convicted on both state and federal charges.
Thao’s state case was the last of the multiple trials related to Floyd’s death, which was captured on video and set off worldwide protests objecting to police violence against Black people.
“The conviction of Tou Thao is historic and the right outcome,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the lead prosecutor of Floyd’s murder, said in a statement.
“It brings one more measure of accountability in the tragic death of George Floyd. Accountability is not justice, but it is a step on the road to justice.”
Recently elected Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in a statement noted how “the images of a police officer murdering George Floyd shocked the world, shattered our community, and devastated those who knew and loved him.”
“Today, the person who aided in the murder by preventing community members from helping Mr. Floyd has been found guilty and held accountable,” Moriarty said.
“I hope today’s verdict is another step on the path toward healing for George Floyd’s family.”
