Officers Who Allegedly Aided and Abetted in Floyd Murder Appear in Court

(The mug shots of four former Minneapolis officers who have been charged in connection to the murder of George Floyd. From L to R: Derek Chauvin, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane. Photo at Hennepin County Jail, via Getty Images.)

While Minneapolis continued to mourn the death of George Floyd and hold memorial services in his honor, the three men charged with aiding and abetting in Floyd’s murder made their first court appearances for a bond hearing. Minneapolis Judge Paul Scoggin set bail for the three former officers involved in George Floyd's death at a million dollars, but ordered the defendants could be released on a lower bail amount of $750,000 if they followed specific conditions.

Those conditions include: no work in a law enforcement capacity, surrender all firearms, void all firearm permits, have no contact with the victim's family and agree to waive extradition should they leave the state. No pleas were entered, but attorneys for the defendants all cited ties to the community and cooperation with the investigation as reasons for a lighter bail sentence. The next court appearance for the former officers is scheduled for June 29.

Criminal complaints were issued on Wednesday for these three former Minneapolis police officers who assisted Derek Chauvin with the murder of George Floyd. Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao were all charged with one count each of aiding and abetting second-degree felony murder and one count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Former Minneapolis police officer J. Alexander Kueng, one of three officers charged with aiding and abetting in the murder of George Floyd, is seen in an artist's sketch as he attends a court hearing in Minneapolis, Minn., June 4, 2020.

Both charges are felonies, punishable by substantial prison sentences. Minnesota Law defines “aiding and abetting” as: "[a]person is criminally liable for a crime committed by another if the person intentionally aids, advises, hires, counsels, or conspires with or otherwise procures the other to commit the crime." The state will have to prove that these men (1) sought to “harbor, conceal, aid, or assist by word or act” (2) knew or had reason to know that Chauvin committed a crime (which means they were aware of the crime or were not willfully ignorant of the crime) and (3) understood the validity of the crime “under the laws of this or another state or of the United States.”

Considering that the men charged are former police officers and expected to be fluent in the law, proving the later aspects of the charges should not be difficult and should limit several defense strategies normally available to civilians who may claim they didn’t know they were helping to commit or conceal a crime.

The charges were filed on Wednesday by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the complaints detail how none of the three officers took action to assist Floyd, change his position with regard to holding a knee to the neck or reduce the force Chauvin was using on Floyd’s neck. The complaint also confirms that in addition to making no effort to lessen the force Chauvin was using, none of the three officers even moved from their positions as Floyd screamed for help and exclaimed, “I can’t breathe.”

The criminal complaints also confirm that the first felony count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder is punishable by up to 40 years in prison and the second count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $20,000.

One of the officers charged with aiding and abetting was so new to the Minneapolis police force that he hadn’t even completed his third full shift when the incident occurred. J. Alexander Kueng, pictured below, claimed in his bond hearing that he told his fellow officers who were physically detaining Floyd, "You shouldn't do that."

(Police mug shot of J. Alexander Kueng, who was on his third full shift as a new police officer when the death of George Floyd occurred. Via Minneapolis PD.)

Former officer Thomas Lane was also new to the Minnesota Police, having only been on the force for four days when the murder occurred. His attorney, Earl Gray, claimed that Lane asked Derek Chauvin twice, "Shall we roll him over?" Gray also told the court that Lane expressed concern that Floyd may be in "delirium."

Attorney Grey went on to tell the court that Chauvin was the training officer for Lane and he argued that his client was simply following direct orders from his training superior. "What is my client supposed to do other than follow what the training officer said?" Gray asked the court.

Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were responding to a call about a $20 counterfeit bill on May 25 when they detained George Floyd. Lane, 37, allegedly held Floyd's legs down while Kueng, 26 allegedly held Floyd's back as Chauvin placed his knee on the suspects neck, according to the criminal complaint. Thao, 34, allegedly watched the entire incident with his hands in his pockets, according to the complaint.

(The makeshift memorial and mural outside Cup Foods where George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on Sunday, May 31, 2020 in Minneapolis , Minnesota. Photo by Jason Armond of The Los Angeles Times, via Getty Images.)

Former officer Derek Chauvin was arrested last week and initially charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter, but those charges were amended and upgraded to second-degree murder on Wednesday by Minnesota Attorney General, Keith Ellison. Chauvin remains in jail, where his bond is set at $500,000.

While Floyd family attorney Benjamin Crump and many protesters have called for a first-degree murder charge against Chauvin, Attorney General Ellison has explained that a first-degree charge requires premeditation and deliberation. Ellison went on to say that second-degree intentional murder means the person had to intend for death to be the result. Ellison confirmed that the second-degree unintentional murder while committing a felony charge that he filed against Chauvin best fits the events and that his team will contend that "George Floyd was assaulted, and so that would be the underlying felony."

Chauvin was a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department for nearly 19 years and was the subject of at least 18 prior complaints. Only two of those complaints were "closed with discipline," according to a department internal affairs public summary. 

Personnel files released by police are also heavily redacted and only detail a 2007 complaint from a woman alleging that Chauvin had pulled her from her car, searched her and placed her in the back of a squad car for going 10 miles an hour over the speed limit. 

An investigator found that Chauvin "did not have to remove complainant from car" and that he could have interviewed her outside the vehicle. According to police documents, Chauvin only received a letter of reprimand and a notice of suspension for the incident. A trial will likely force all of the information previously redacted in Chauvin’s personnel file to be fully disclosed, giving a much more comprehensive view of his police practices.

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Amee Vanderpool writes the “Shero” Newsletter and is an attorney, contributor to magazines and newspapers and analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.

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