ABC News was informed by a court official that one of the two former law enforcement officers, who were set to face trial on Monday for offenses related to the demise of George Floyd, entered a plea of guilty as per a negotiation with the prosecuting attorneys.
A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Courts announced on Monday morning that Alexander J. Kueng, a defense attorney, and prosecutors have reached an agreement to recommend a 42-month prison sentence for Kueng, who pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting in manslaughter.
A second charge of aiding and abetting in second-degree unintentional murder will be dismissed against Kueng as part of his plea agreement.
Peter Judge informed Cahill that if he understood the plea agreement and the agreement threatened him, he had the right to accept it and go to trial, as he told Kueng during the trial.
A date for Kueng’s sentencing was not immediately scheduled. Cahill requested a pre-sentencing inquiry.
The trial for former Minneapolis police officers Thao and Kueng, who were convicted on charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights in February, will begin this month. After the jury selection, the trial was announced as a joint state trial and the two officers will serve their federal sentences in separate prisons.
Both men, who ignited massive protests across the nation and the world stemming from the death of Floyd on Memorial Day 2020, did not plead guilty to charges of abetting and aiding in second-degree unintentional murder and manslaughter.
The court spokesperson stated that instead of wanting the jury to render a verdict, the prosecution team and Thao’s attorney have agreed to base their decision on stipulated evidence in order to determine Cahill’s fate. However, Thao’s trial is still proceeding.
Keith Ellison, the Attorney General of Minnesota, announced that prosecutors in his office have decided to hold a bench trial until a decision is reached in the more serious charge of second-degree murder and aiding and abetting. However, for Thao, the jury will only decide on the charge of second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting.
If Thao is found guilty of the manslaughter accusation, Ellison mentioned that the state has agreed to drop the charge of assisting and supporting in second-degree murder.
The evidence that was agreed upon for Cahill to examine was required to be presented to the court before November 17th. According to the spokesperson, the judge will deliver a decision after taking up to 90 days to review it.
The former Minneapolis police officer, Thomas Lane, along with his co-defendants, Derek Chauvin and Tou Thao, were convicted on federal civil rights charges stemming from the death of George Floyd. It was initially scheduled for the state trial of Thao and Kueng to take place in June 2022, but concerns over delayed publicity and the difficulty of seating an impartial jury have led to the trial being postponed.
At the time of his decision, Cahill said that the trial should be postponed in order to diminish the impact of this publicity on defendants’ ability and right to receive a fair and impartial trial from an unbiased jury.
Lane, who is currently serving a prison sentence of 2 1/2 years, was sentenced to three years in prison for his involvement in the unintentional second-degree murder and aiding and abetting charges. On Monday, Kueng accepted a plea deal in which the state prosecutors agreed to dismiss the top charge of unintentional second-degree murder and aiding and abetting against him in exchange for his guilty plea to second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting charges in May.
Ellison expressed in a statement, “The acknowledgment, hopefully, can provide solace to Floyd’s family and bring our communities closer to a fresh era of accountability and justice.” J. Alexander Kueng, at this point, is the second officer implicated in Floyd’s demise who has taken responsibility by admitting guilt.
Kueng, Thao, and Lane were found guilty in February by a federal jury for breaching George Floyd’s civil rights by neglecting to step in or offer medical assistance while their superior officer, Derek Chauvin, knelt on Floyd’s neck, with his hands restrained, for over nine minutes.
Kueng, a rookie police officer at the time of Floyd’s death, was given a three-year federal prison sentence, followed by two years of supervised release. Thao, a nine-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department at the time of Floyd’s death, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison, also followed by two years of supervised release.
Floyd was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. According to prosecutors, Chauvin held his knee on the back of Floyd’s neck, rendering him unconscious and without a pulse. Videos from civilian cell phone cameras and police body cameras showed Floyd begging for his life and complaining that he couldn’t breathe as Chauvin held him down. Floyd suffered critical injuries when he was placed in handcuffs and in a prone position on the pavement after being accused of attempting to use a fake $20 bill to buy cigarettes at a convenience store.
He received a prison sentence of over 22 years. Chauvin was found guilty in a state court last year for the crimes of unintentional murder in the second degree, murder in the third degree, and manslaughter in the second degree.
The trial for Kueng and Thao, no cameras are permitted. Cahill determined in April that circumstances “are significantly distinct from those the Court faced from November 2020 through April 2021 with the Chauvin trial” while Chauvin’s state trial was livestreamed in its entirety due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic restricting the public’s entry to the courtroom.
The 46-year-old Chauvin also pleaded guilty in December to federal charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights and was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison.
During their federal trial, Thao and Kueng, who were senior officers in the Minneapolis Police Department, testified that Chauvin, a 19-year veteran, was a trusted and respected colleague. They attested that Chauvin would often deflect their suggestions and advice when it came to dealing with Floyd, whom they were trying to help.