‘My Conscience Is Clear’: Former Policeman Convicted in Death of George Floyd Gets Nearly Five Years in Prison

The final former Minneapolis, Minnesota, policeman convicted for his role in the May 2020 death of George Floyd was sentenced to more than four years in prison on Monday.

Tou Thao previously said his role in the incident was holding back people who gathered at the scene as former policeman Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck prior to his death, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Tou Thao, the officer who held back crowd as George Floyd was detained, is sentenced to nearly 5 years for aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

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During sentencing, Thao said his intentions were not to hurt anyone when the incident occurred, and he also talked about how he had grown in his Christian faith while spending the past 340 days in jail.

“I did not commit these crimes. My conscience is clear. I will not be a Judas nor join a mob in self-preservation or betray my God,” he stated.

In May, Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill found the former officer guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

On Monday, the judge said, “After three years of reflection, I was hoping for a little more remorse, regret, acknowledgment of some responsibility, and less preaching.”

“I’m not going to rehash all the facts from my order, which I found that the things you did and the things you didn’t do made you guilty of this crime,” the judge added:

A Minneapolis judge has sentenced Tou Thao, a former police officer who held back bystanders as other officers pinned George Floyd to the ground, to four years and nine months in state prison. pic.twitter.com/TTDiSzv7Te

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Thao’s attorney, Robert Paule, is planning an appeal.

In 2020, Thao’s defense team argued the body camera footage recorded at the scene of Floyd’s death proved the now-former officer should not face charges in the case, ABC News reported.

The clip shows one bystander demanding the officers check Floyd’s pulse and tell her the results:

“The fact that you guys aren’t checking his pulse and doing compressions if he needs them, you guys are on another level,” she says.

In April, Chauvin’s appeal for another trial was rejected after he was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for Floyd’s murder, according to Breitbart News.

“Chauvin recently pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges, and his ex-wife also pleaded guilty to similar charges,” the outlet also said, adding the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that he would have to pay for his attorney when appealing his murder conviction and sentence.