The last former Minneapolis Police officer convicted in the death of George Floyd in May 2020 has been sentenced to more than four years in state prison, the Associated Press reports. Tou Thao was sentence to four years, nine months in prison for his role in Floyd’s death, for which he was found guilty of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter; Thao had turned down a plea agreement. Previously, he was found guilty of federal charges and sentenced to three-and-a-half-years in federal prison.
Thao described in his role in holding back the crowd as then-0fficer Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s back and neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd repeated stated he couldn’t breathe. During the sentencing hearing on “I did not commit these crimes,” Thao said. “My conscience is clear. I will not be a Judas nor join a mob in self-preservation or betray my God.”