Ex-Officers Found Guilty of Violating George Floyd’s Civil Rights

Three former police officers have been found guilty of violating George Floyd’s civil rights.

According to the Daily Beast, a federal jury announced the verdict in court on Thursday, less than two years after the 46-year-old Black man died in Minneapolis police custody. The defendants—38-year-old Thomas Lane, 28-year-old J. Alexander Kueng, and 35-year-old Tou Thao—were each charged with using the “color of the law” to deprive Floyd of his civil rights while he was being forcefully detained by ex-officer Derek Chauvin.

Prosecutors argued Kueng and Thao willingly failed to intervene when Chauvin pressed his knee against Floyd’s neck for approximately nine minutes. During that time, a bystander filmed Floyd pleading for his life and repeatedly saying he couldn’t breathe. The viral video, which sparked global protests against police brutality, showed Floyd had lost consciousness shortly before he was declared dead.

This story is being updated.