3 Ex-Cops Convicted of Rights Violations in Floyd Killing
SnopesNov 28, 2021
Former Police Officers Found Guilty of Violating George Floyd's Civil Rights
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Image copyright: Cedric Hohnstadt/Reuters [via The WSJ]
The Facts
Three Minneapolis police officers have been found guilty of violating George Floyd's civil rights by a federal jury.
Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were found to have shown deliberate indifference to Floyd's medical needs.
The Spin
Narrative A
Officers are both trained and required to intervene in 'constitutional violations', but they're rarely charged for not doing so. Convicting these three officers could help change the "blue wall of silence" culture that has enabled violence against civilians and fueled racial unrest.
Narrative B
Though Floyd's death was a tragedy, the actions of these officers weren't necessarily criminal. They had no reason to believe Chauvin was mishandling Floyd, who had a potentially fatal level of fentanyl in his body at the time of his death.
