MINNEAPOLIS — One of the two ex-Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting George Floyd's killing is pleading guilty, and the other officer has agreed not to proceed with his state trial scheduled to begin Monday.
The decision by fired officer J. Alexander Kueng came as jury selection was about to start Monday morning in the joint trial in Hennepin County District Court.
After Kueng's plea deal was announced, co-defendant Tou Thao told District Judge Peter Cahill that he was giving up his right to a jury trial and agreeing instead to a trial by stipulated evidence.
Thao's attorney, Robert Paule, said that means Cahill will review the evidence and issue a verdict within 90 days.
Both decisions avoid a trial that was expected to last until mid-December and include dozens of witnesses recounting Floyd's murder on May 25, 2020, by former police officer Derek Chauvin in south Minneapolis.
Kueng admitted to aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter, specifically being culpably negligent and creating an unreasonable risk. His attorney, Thomas Plunkett, said the negotiated settlement included dismissal of a second count of second-degree unintentional murder.
Paule said Cahill will review evidence and issue a verdict only on the manslaughter count against Thao. If Cahill finds Thao guilty, the sentence could range from three to five years, Paule said. In the meantime Thao will remain in segregated custody at the Hennepin County jail, Cahill said.
Plunkett said Kueng's state sentence will be served concurrently with the federal sentence he's serving at the federal prison in Elkton, Ohio.
Chauvin was convicted last year of second-degree murder and manslaughter for pressing his knee on Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes outside Cup Foods as Floyd pleaded for his life. Chauvin later pleaded guilty to federal charges for violating Floyd's civil rights and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
Kueng, Thao and fellow officer Thomas Lane were found guilty of federal charges in a jury trial and are serving federal sentences ranging from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 years. Kueng and Lane helped Chauvin hold a handcuffed Floyd to the ground while Thao held off agitated bystanders concerned for Floyd's well-being.
They faced two charges: aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting manslaughter. The charges carry a sentence of at least 16 years in prison.
Kueng, 29, and Thao, 36, had rejected an offer that Lane, 39, accepted to avoid a state trial. That plea deal would have allowed them to serve their state sentences at the same time as their federal sentences.
Attorney General Keith Ellison issued a statement Monday to thank the witnesses who were preparing to testify in the third trial connected to Floyd's killing.
"Kueng is now the second officer involved in Floyd's death to accept responsibility through a guilty plea," Ellison said. "That acknowledgement hopefully can bring comfort to Floyd's family and bring our communities closer to a new era of accountability and justice."
The attorney general added that he looks forward to a swift resolution in Thao's stipulated bench trial.
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(Star Tribune staff writers Paul Walsh and Rochelle Olson contributed to this report.)
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