Attorney General Ellison: ‘Verdict honors Floyd’s memory’
Reacts to verdict in federal civil-rights trial of former officers Kueng, Lane, and Thao in death of George Floyd: verdict vindicates ‘principle that officers have a duty and a responsibility to intervene and render medical care’
February 24, 2022 (SAINT PAUL) — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison issued the following statement today upon the conviction in federal court of defendants J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao on a total five counts of violating George Floyd’s civil rights by failing to intervene on Mr. Floyd’s behalf and by depriving Mr. Floyd of his right to medical care. The jury also found that the defendants’ deprivation of Mr. Floyd’s civil rights led to his death on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis.
My thoughts today are with the family of George Floyd. This verdict honors Floyd’s memory.
Once again, the principle that no one is above the law and no one is beneath it has been upheld. This is not a celebratory moment, but it is an important one. The jury found that the defendants’ deprivation of George Floyd’s civil rights caused his death. The verdicts today vindicate the principle that officers have a duty and a responsibility to intervene and render medical care, and they affirm that it is a violation of federal law not to do so. I hope that law-enforcement departments all over the country will act to ensure that officers will intervene if they see illegal conduct by a fellow officer. That is an important part of the change that we need. These verdicts will help move us toward it.
I want to thank Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, head of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Charles Kovats, and the prosecutors who tried this case for fearlessly following the path of justice wherever it led. While these verdicts in themselves are not justice, they are accountability, and accountability is a step on the path of justice.
