Tou Thao - a former Minneapolis police officer - has been found guilty by a federal judge for his role in <a href="https://vt.co/news/us/four-cops-fired-after-video-shows-white-officer-kneeling-on-black-mans-neck">George Floyd's murder back in May of 2020.</a> The decision was made by Judge Peter Cahill in court documents filed on Monday night (May 1), per <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/02/us/tou-thao-george-floyd-trial/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. Thao has been found guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter and is set to be sentenced on August 7. As reported by <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/tou-thao-guilty-aiding-abetting-manslaughter-george-floyds-death/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CBS News</a>, the ex-cop had been faced with a count of aiding and abetting second-degree murder, which was ultimately dismissed. <img class="size-full wp-image-1263209581" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/05/2JJPG37-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="1914" height="2560" />[[imagecaption|| Tou Thao. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy]] "The conviction of Tou Thao is historic and the right outcome," Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement. "It brings one more measure of accountability in the tragic death of George Floyd. Accountability is not justice, but it is a step on the road to justice." George Floyd hit headlines around the world when the 46-year-old Black man was killed during an arrest at the hands of Minneapolis police on May 25, 2020. The arrest was in response to a 911 call from a convenience store employee who said Floyd had used a counterfeit bill. Footage of the arrest caused outrage, as it showed a white officer by the name of Derek Chauvin holding his knee on Floyd's neck for approximately nine minutes. During the arrest, Floyd repeatedly told the officers: "I can't breathe." <img class="size-large wp-image-1263209569" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/05/2C4MJGT-1024x683.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="683" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Robert K. Chin / Alamy]] The 177-page document was filed following Thao's stipulated-evidence trial, where Judge Cahill heard how Thao held back the gathering crowd during Floyd's arrest - something that Cahill says "actively encouraged his three colleagues’ dangerous prone restraint of Floyd". Body cam footage shows Thao telling onlookers: "This is why you don't do drugs, kids." He could also be heard telling an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter to "back off" when she asked if she could check Floyd's pulse. Judge Cahill said that his actions went against Thao's police training. "Like the bystanders, Thao could see Floyd’s life slowly ebbing away as the restraint continued," Cahill wrote in his verdict. "Yet Thao made a conscious decision to actively participate in Floyd’s death: he held back the concerned bystanders and even prevented an off-duty Minneapolis firefighter from rendering the medical aid Floyd so desperately needed." Cahill went on to write that Thao deliberately refused to follow the "proper protocol" and that Floyd "died as a result." Thao is already serving time after previously <a href="https://vt.co/news/us/federal-grand-jury-indicts-chauvin-four-former-minneapolis-cops-george-floyds-civil-rights">being found guilty of depriving Floyd of his civil rights.</a> During an April 2021 trial that was also presided over by Cahill, Chauvin was found guilty on two state murder charges and a manslaughter charge. <a href="https://vt.co/news/derek-chauvin-is-sentenced-to-21-years-for-violating-george-floyds-civil-rights">Cahill later sentenced the convict to 22.5 years behind bars. </a> Chauvin appealed the verdict, but last month it was upheld by the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Floyd's death sparked a number of protests around the US as people called for an end to police brutality of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. This is a breaking news story, more to follow... <h6>Featured image credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy</h6>

Ex-cop Tou Thao found guilty by judge for his role in George Floyd's murder

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