thomas lane – The Philadelphia Observer

Justice For George Floyd: Prosecutors Face High Legal Standard In Ex-Cops’ Federal Civil Rights Trial

Juan Ignacio — Sat, 22 Jan 2022 13:50:48 +0000

Source: KEREM YUCEL / Getty

Jury selection begins Thursday in the federal trial for the three ex-cops who stood idle as Derek Chauvin put his knee on the neck of George Floyd.

Prosecutors will have to prove if each of the officers willingly violated George Floyd’s constitutional rights, but this task may prove to be difficult.

According to experts, in federal cases, an accident, bad judgment, or negligence isn’t enough to support federal charges; therefore, prosecutors must prove that the three officers knew what they were doing was wrong, but continued to do it anyway.

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According to the indictment, all three officers saw Floyd needed medical attention, but failed to assist him with any aid.

J. Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao all face charges of violating Floyd’s civil rights while under government authority. Thao and Kueng have also been charged with willfully violating Floyd’s right to be free from unreasonable seizure for not stopping Derek Chauvin while his knee was on Floyd’s neck.

The officers could face life in prison, but sentences like that are highly unlikely, especially in cases involving law enforcement.

“This trial is going to present an evolutionary step beyond what we saw at the Chauvin trial because we’re not looking at the killer, but the people who enable the killer,” said former federal prosecutor Mark Osler. “That gets a step closer to the culture of the department.”

Source: Justice For George Floyd: Prosecutors Face High Legal Standard In Ex-Cops’ Federal Civil Rights Trial

Former Minneapolis Officers Plead Not Guilty to Violating George Floyd’s Civil Rights

Juan Ignacio — Fri, 17 Sep 2021 01:25:53 +0000

*Four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday to charges they violated Floyd’s civil rights during his arrest in May 2020.

Derek Chauvin, Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao have been charged with violating Floyd’s constitutional rights in ways that “resulted in bodily injury to, and the death of, George Floyd,” according to the federal grand jury indictment.

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Per CNN, a federal grand jury indicted the ex-cops in May. Thao and Kueng also were charged for failure to intervene while Chauvin used his knee on Floyd’s neck to crush the life out of him.

Floyd, a Black man, died on Memorial Day in 2020 after Chauvin, who is white, pinned his knee against Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd cried out for his mother and said “I can’t breathe” more than 20 times. Video footage of the fatal encounter went viral, fueling worldwide protests in response to Floyd’s killing.

Source: Former Minneapolis Officers Plead Not Guilty to Violating George Floyd’s Civil Rights

Thomas Lane, former cop charged with killing George Floyd, makes bail

Juan Ignacio — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 13:53:12 +0000

One of the fired police officers who was charged in the death of George Floyd has made bail. TMZ reports that Thomas Lane, the officer who had just four days on the job has been able to post $750K on a $1M dollar bail.

Lane’s lawyer, Earl Gray, told TMZ only that it was “pretty good news” when asked how Lane was able to post bond. His family did seek donations to help him get out of jail and for his defense, the site reports, but was unable to confirm if that’s how he raised the money.

Lane is the one officer out of the four who asked if Floyd should be laid on his side while he was lying prone on the street in handcuffs. He also, according to his family, was the one who accompanied Floyd in the ambulance and he performed CPR.

People visit a memorial at the site where George Floyd was killed on June 3, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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However, Lane, along with the three other ex-officers including Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd’s neck, was seen pinning Floyd down. He is the officer shown in the mask.

Despite Lane’s request to turn Floyd over, Chauvin would not let up and Lane’s family says that he was prohibited by the chain of command to intervene more. It appears that the family will cite his lack of experience as a factor in why he didn’t do more.

Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis police force, had 18 citations on his record on May 25 when Floyd died after police were called to a forgery in progress call. Floyd was accused of passing a $20 bill at a convenience store in North Minneapolis.

Lane and former Minneapolis police officers Tao Thao, J Alexander Kueng were all charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder in a case that has generated worldwide protests for the last 16 days. Some protests have turned violent and looters destroyed and burned stores in several states.

Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder.

Source: Thomas Lane, former cop charged with killing George Floyd, makes bail