Former officer who held down George Floyd's legs gets 3 years in prison for aiding and abetting manslaughter

Authored by edition.cnn.com and submitted by AudibleNod
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(CNN) The former Minneapolis Police officer who held down George Floyd's legs in May 2020 was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday on a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in Floyd's death.

Thomas Lane, who is currently in federal prison for violating Floyd's civil rights during his fatal restraint, appeared remotely at the hearing, wearing beige prison clothing. He began his federal 2.5-year sentence in a Bureau of Prisons facility in Colorado late last month.

Lane received credit for 31 days already served. Prosecutors did not ask for restitution as part of the sentence. He will be prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition for the rest of his life, Judge Peter Cahill ruled.

The former officer did not address the court Wednesday, but some of his comments after the hearing were audible.

At one point, Cahill said Lane must "register as a predatory offender if required by law." Once the WebEx sentencing hearing had ended, Lane could be heard asking his attorney Earl Gray, "I have to register as a predatory offender, what the f**k is that?"

killswitch4987 on September 22nd, 2022 at 02:10 UTC »

Now for the Uvalde Police force.

DuckDrunkLove on September 21st, 2022 at 21:32 UTC »

...I dunno about this one.

It was his 4th day on the job. He was the first one on the scene, and his boss (Chauvin) arrived and turned everything to shit. Lane was holding Floyd's legs while Chauvin was on his neck, and Lane twice told Chauvin he needed to reposition Floyd, but Chauvin overruled him.

When they realized that Floyd didn't have a pulse, Lane was the one to perform CPR on Floyd.

I personally feel like 3 years is harsh for this guy.

AudibleNod on September 21st, 2022 at 20:27 UTC »

All four former officers have a been convicted of civil rights violations. Two more have their case on state charges later next month. Plus the city already agreed to pay out money in a civil suit.