J Alexander Kueng: Ex-cop who knelt on George Floyd's back during fatal arrest gets 3.5 years in prison
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA: J Alexander Kueng 29, a former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s back during the fatal May 2020 arrest, has been jailed for three-and-a-half years during Friday sentencing in Minneapolis court. Kueng, 29, pled guilty to one count of second-degree manslaughter in October as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. Kueng struck a plea deal that saw a charge of aiding and abetting murder dropped in return for his admission. He had 84 days subtracted from the time already served.
J. Alexander Kueng, 29, a former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on the back of George Floyd during the fatal May 2020 arrest, was sentenced Friday in a Minneapolis court to three and a half years in prison. Kueng, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree manslaughter in October as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. In exchange for his plea, Kueng dropped an accessory to the murder charge. He had 84 days deducted from the prison time he had already served. The plea was made just before jury selection for a joint state trial for Kueng and another officer, Tou Thao 34, was to begin. On May 25, 2020, Kueng was one of four cops called to a Minneapolis grocery store and attempted to arrest Floyd on suspicion of using a forged $20 bill to purchase smokes. During the encounter, the senior cop on the scene, Derek Chauvin, used his knee to pin the shackled Floyd's neck to the ground for nine minutes, killing him. Floyd’s death ignited protests nationwide against police brutality and systemic racism.
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Chauvin was found guilty of murder in a state trial and sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison. He also pled guilty to similar federal offenses and is presently serving a 21-year federal sentence concurrently. The three other cops were found guilty in federal court of violating Floyd's civil rights and sentenced to between 2-1/2 and 3-1/2 years in prison in July.
“We must never forget the horror of what we all saw in that 9-minute video, and that there rightfully should be both accountability for all involved as well as deep lessons learned for police officers and communities everywhere,” said the legal team for George Floyd’s family, led by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, in an October statement on Kueng’s plea deal in October, abc News reported.
Kueng's plea agreement on the state charge included a sentence of 3-1/2 years to be served concurrently with his federal sentence, a spokesperson for Hennepin County District Court said in October. As per a report, Lane accepted a similar plea deal in May. Thao has agreed to forego his right to a jury trial after rejecting a comparable arrangement in August. Instead, a state court will decide his guilt based on the evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defense. Kueng, who is already serving a federal sentence for violating Floyd´s civil rights, appeared at his sentencing hearing via video from a federal prison in Ohio. A report said when given the chance to address the court, he declined. Floyd's family members had the right to make victim impact statements, but none did.