New information on the fate of the two remaining former Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in the killing of George Floyd after a court appearance Monday morning.
After about 15 minutes in court, former officers Jay Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao rejected final offers from state to avoid a trial.
The offer was that the two former officers would spend 36 months in prison, the same as their federal sentencing in the Civil Rights case in July.
They both said no to that offer. They are charged with aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting second-degree murder.
The state's Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank offered to drop felony charges if they pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of aiding and abetting manslaughter. He added that the offer expired today.
If convicted on the top count, they would be looking at spending over 12 years. Thao said in court that it would be "a sin and a lie" to accept the state plea.
Local attorney Jack Rice, who is not affiliated with the case, says this is a big risk for Thao and Kueng.
"The concern, if you know you're going to go down on a Federal charge, is that the state charge, if you don't do it right, you can actually serve more time," Rice told WCCO. "Because in this particular case, they're facing essentially aiding and abetting second degree intentional murder. They could be looking at decades in prison on the state side."
The other two former officers involved in George Floyd death, Derek Chauvin and Thomas Lane, have already accepted sentences. Chauvin is serving 22 years and Lane agreed to three years for aiding and abetting manslaughter.
Related
