What we know about the 3 ex-police officers on trial this week for George Floyd’s death
By Harmeet Kaur and Nicole Chavez, CNN
One of the officers had been on the job four days. One was on his third shift ever. And Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee into George Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, was the field training officer for one of them.
Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao were responding to a call about a $20 counterfeit bill on May 25 when they detained Floyd, who died while in custody.
For their actions that day, Thao, Kueng and Lane were charged in federal court with violating Floyd’s civil rights. Chauvin has pleaded guilty to the federal charges as part of a plea deal.
The four have also all been charged in state court. Chauvin was convicted last year of state charges of murder and manslaughter, while Thao, Kueng and Lane are due to stand trial on state charges of aiding and abetting in June.
Here’s what we know about the three officers’ role in Floyd’s arrest as well as their lives before and while they were on the force, based on their personnel files.
J. Alexander Kueng
What he did: J. Alexander Kueng, 26, helped restrain George Floyd along with Derek Chauvin and Thomas Lane.
The state charges: Kueng has been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
The federal charges: He’s also been charged in federal court with depriving Floyd of his civil rights by allegedly showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs as well as an additional charge alleging he did nothing to intervene to stop Chauvin.
His background:
Kueng was hired as a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department in December 2019. He joined the department as a cadet in February 2019.
He had no prior complaints. When Floyd’s death took place, it was Kueng’s third shift as a police officer, said Thomas Plunkett, his attorney. Chauvin was Kueng’s training officer, according to Plunkett.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota, his personnel file says.
In his job application, Kueng said he worked as an asset protection detective for Macy’s from 2014 to 2017 and in a temporary job with Target. He listed that he can speak, read and write Russian.
Thomas Lane
What he did: Thomas Lane, 37, helped restrain George Floyd, along with Derek Chauvin and J. Alexander Kueng.
The state charges: Lane has been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
The federal charges: He’s also been charged in federal court with depriving Floyd of his civil rights by allegedly showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs.
His background:
He joined the police department as a cadet in February 2019. He didn’t have a history of complaints. Lane had been on the police force for four days when Floyd died, according to his attorney Earl Gray. Lane was “doing everything he thought he was supposed to do as a four-day police officer,” Gray said.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of Minnesota in 2016, Lane worked as a juvenile corrections officer for Hennepin County and as an assistant probation officer.
He previously worked as a server and bartender at different restaurants and was a sales associate at Home Depot, according to his police job application. Under volunteer experience, Lane listed that he helps Somali youth in the Cedar Riverside neighborhood with their homework and tutors them in science and math activities.
Tou Thao
What he did: Tou Thao, 34, stood near the other officers as they restrained George Floyd.
The state charges: Thao has been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
The federal charges: He’s also been charged in federal court with depriving Floyd of his civil rights by allegedly showing deliberate indifference to his medical needs as well as an additional charge alleging he did nothing to intervene to stop Chauvin.
His background: Thao had been a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department since 2012.
He had six complaints filed with internal affairs, one of which was still open, according to a Minneapolis Police Department internal affairs public summary. The other five were closed without discipline.
Before becoming a police officer, Thao worked as a security guard, a stocker at a grocery store and a trainer at McDonald’s. He attended the North Hennepin Community College and was pursuing an associate degree in law enforcement but didn’t graduate, his personnel file shows.
Thao listed that he can speak Hmong. Minnesota has a large Hmong population.
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CNN’s Scottie Andrew, Josh Campbell, Eric Levenson and Sara Sidner contributed to this report.
