Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The three former Minneapolis police officers involved in the police killing of George Floyd were found guilty of violating his civil rights by a federal jury on Thursday.
The jury -- made up of four men and eight women -- found Tou Thao, 36, J. Alexander Kueng, 28, and Thomas Lane, 38, guilty of depriving Floyd of his civil rights by displaying deliberate indifference to his medical needs as former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for more than 9 minutes in the May 25, 2020, killing.
Thao and Kueng were also found guilty of an additional charge of failing to intervene to stop Chauvin. Lane did not face the additional charge.
The Justice Department states that violating a person's civil rights is "punishable by a range of imprisonment up to a life term, or the death penalty, depending upon the circumstances of the crime and the resulting injury, if any."
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Federal sentencing guidelines, however, suggest the officers could receive a lesser sentence.
Chauvin, who was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter, second-degree murder and third-degree murder in April 2021, waived his right to trial by pleading guilty to one count of violating Floyd's rights.
Chauvin faces up to 25 years to serve concurrently with his state prison sentence of 22.5 years.
Prosecutors said the three officers ignored their training as they failed to intervene with Chauvin and mocked and refused to help Floyd as he lay dying under the officer's knee.
They also noted the trio had the ability and duty to render aid to Floyd as he repeatedly complained he couldn't breathe as Chauvin had him pinned down with a knee on his neck -- but chose not to.
Defense attorneys argued their clients were inexperienced officers who received inconsistent training and deferred to Chauvin's seniority during the arrest. All three officers testified in their own defense during the trial.
Floyd's legal team, led by Ben Crump, said in a statement that the verdict Thursday "closes another important chapter in our journey for justice for George Floyd and his family."
"These officers tried to devise any excuse that could let them wash the blood from their hands, but following these verdicts Geroge's blood will forever stain them," they said. "Today's guilty verdicts should serve as the guiding example of why police departments across America should expand and prioritize instruction on an officer's duty to intervene and recognize when a fellow officer is using excessive force."
