海角大神

The three Minneapolis police officers alongside Derek Chauvin at the scene of George Floyd鈥檚 killing offered a variety of reasons why they weren鈥檛 to blame: Inexperience. Bad training. Fear of a senior officer. The looming threat of angry bystanders.

A federal jury swept them all aside Thursday, emerging from two days of deliberations that followed a month of testimony to convict Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng, and Thomas Lane of violating Floyd鈥檚 civil rights.

All three men were convicted of depriving Mr. Floyd of his right to medical care as the 46-year-old Black man was pinned under Mr. Chauvin鈥檚 knee for 9 1/2 minutes while handcuffed, facedown on the street on May 25, 2020. Mr. Kueng knelt on Mr. Floyd鈥檚 back, Mr. Lane held his legs, and Mr. Thao kept bystanders back.

Mr. Thao and Mr. Kueng were also convicted of failing to intervene to stop Mr. Chauvin in the videotaped killing that sparked protests in Minneapolis and around the globe as part of a reckoning over racial injustice.

Mr. Floyd鈥檚 brother Philonise Floyd called the verdicts 鈥渁ccountability,鈥� but added: 鈥淭here can never be justice because I can never get George back.鈥�

And Mr. Floyd鈥檚 nephew Brandon Williams said he hoped the verdicts would change laws and policies to 鈥減rotect people from these situations.鈥� He also said the outcome 鈥渟ends a message that says, if you murder or use excessive or deadly force, there鈥檚 consequences that follow.鈥�

Mr. Lane shook his head and looked at his attorney as his verdict was read. Mr. Thao and Mr. Kueng showed no visible emotion. Their attorneys declined to comment immediately afterward.

Charles Kovats, acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, called the convictions a reminder that all sworn law enforcement officers have a duty to intervene.

鈥淭hese officers had a moral responsibility, a legal obligation, and a duty to intervene, and by failing to do so, they committed a crime,鈥� Mr. Kovats said.

Mr. Chauvin and Mr. Thao went to the scene to help rookies Mr. Kueng and Mr. Lane after they responded to a call that Mr. Floyd used a counterfeit $20 bill at a corner store. Mr. Floyd struggled with officers as they tried to put him in a police SUV.

During the monthlong federal trial, prosecutors sought to show that the officers violated their training, including when they failed to move Mr. Floyd or give him CPR. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Floyd鈥檚 condition was so serious that even bystanders without basic medical training could see he needed help, but that the officers 鈥渃hose to do nothing.鈥�

The defense said their training was inadequate. Mr. Kueng and Mr. Lane both said they deferred to Mr. Chauvin as the senior officer at the scene. Mr. Thao testified that he relied on the other officers to care for Mr. Floyd鈥檚 medical needs as his attention was elsewhere.

A jury of eight women and four men that appeared to be all-white reached the verdicts after about two days of deliberations. The court did not release demographics such as race or age. Mr. Lane is white, Mr. Kueng is Black and Mr. Thao is Hmong American.

The former officers remain free on bond pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. Conviction of a federal civil rights violation that results in death is punishable by life in prison or even death, but such sentences are extremely rare. Federal sentencing guidelines rely on complicated formulas that indicate the officers would get much less.

Mr. Chauvin, who is white, was convicted of murder last year in state court and pleaded guilty in December in the federal case. He was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in the state case. A sentencing date has not yet been set in the federal case, but both sides agreed Mr. Chauvin should face a sentence ranging from 20 to 25 years.

Public reaction to Thursday鈥檚 verdicts was muted, with only a tiny handful of protesters visible outside the courthouse, which was surrounded by fencing throughout the trial. On the day Mr. Chauvin was convicted, many people listened live as his verdicts were read and crowded into the square where Mr. Floyd died for a celebration afterward. That trial was livestreamed, while this one was not.

Mr. Lane, Mr. Kueng, and Mr. Thao also face a separate trial in June on state charges alleging that they aided and abetted murder and manslaughter.

The verdicts come just days after the conviction of three white men on hate crimes charges in Georgia in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was chased and shot in February 2020.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Tammy Webber reported from Fenton, Michigan.