MINNEAPOLIS – A former Minneapolis police officer who pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd was sentenced Wednesday to three years.
Thomas Lane pleaded guilty back in May. Judge Peter Cahill sentenced Lane to 36 months Wednesday morning.
The three-year sentence is shorter than the presumptive sentence, which would typically be 41 to 57 months.
Cahill says the shorter sentence is under the basis that Lane played a less culpable role in Floyd's death.
"There were moments where Mr. Lane tried to change what was going on that day, initially trying to deescalate that situation with Mr. Floyd, and even calling attention to maybe some better way to handle it. Those are different than what others at the scene did," Cahill said.
Lane is already serving 30 months in a federal prison in Colorado for violating George Floyd's civil rights.
Wednesday's sentencing hearing was held remotely. Lane appeared via video from the Federal Correctional Institution Englewood, the low-security federal prison camp in Littleton, Colorado. The entire sentencing took around 8 minutes.
Ex-officer Derek Chauvin is serving more than 20 years in prison for Floyd's murder. He has been transferred to a federal facility and is concurrently serving a sentence for violating Floyd's rights.
Two other former officers charged in Floyd's death rejected plea deals on state charges in August. The trial for Tou Thao and J. Alexander Keung is slated to begin in October. Both men received federal sentences for violating Floyd's rights in July, with Kueng getting three years and Thao 3½ .
Lane bristles at predatory offender registration
At the end of Thomas Lane's sentencing, the ex-officer could be heard chastising his attorney, Earl Gray, over a requirement to register as a predatory offender.
"I gotta register as a predatory offender? What the f*** is that?" Lane said.
"I don't know. I'll look into it," Gray said. "I don't understand that either."
"That's what Chauvin has to do, so if I have a minimal role why the f*** do I gotta do that? Jesus Christ," Lane said.
"I'll look it up. I don't know," Gray said. Shortly after, the court notified Lane and Gray that the virtual hearing was still live.