Prison official didn’t show for George Floyd ex-officer sentencing, forcing court delay
Cami Mondeaux
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A former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s back during his arrest in May 2020 is set to be sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Friday afternoon after scheduling confusion caused the Bureau of Prisons to miss the initial sentencing and resulted in an hourslong delay.
J. Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in October, entering into a plea deal on the day jury selection was set to begin for his state trial. The plea deal allowed the former police officer to avoid a trial altogether, leaving his fate in the hands of a judge instead.
JUDGE DELAYS TRIAL FOR TWO EX-MINNEAPOLIS OFFICERS CHARGED IN GEORGE FLOYD KILLING
Kueng knelt on Floyd’s back during his May 2020 arrest, which ended in the black man’s death after former officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nine and a half minutes despite Floyd repeatedly telling the officers he couldn’t breathe. Floyd’s death was caught on camera and sparked global outrage as part of a broader call for racial justice.
Both Kueng and Chauvin, as well as former officer Thomas Lane, who held Floyd’s legs, and Tou Thao, who kept bystanders from intervening, have been fired and face state and federal charges.
Kueng is expected to be sentenced to three and a half years in prison which will be served at the same time as his federal sentence. The former officer was previously convicted on federal charges in February for depriving Floyd of the right to access medical care and failing to intervene. Kueng was sentenced to three years on those charges.
As part of his plea deal, Kueng admitted to knowingly holding Floyd in a position that created substantial risk despite knowing the restraint was unreasonable under the circumstances.
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Kueng’s sentencing was initially scheduled for Friday morning, but it was later delayed after the Bureau of Prisons failed to sign on to the virtual meeting, according to Minnesota Public Radio. His sentencing is now set to take place at 1 p.m. local time on Friday, although Judge Peter Cahill said he would reschedule the meeting for next week if the agency is not prepared by then.
Kueng’s sentencing brings the cases against the former officers one step closer to being fully resolved, with only Thao’s state case still pending.