FILE - This combination of photos provided by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota on Wednesday, June 3, 2020, shows from left, former Minneapolis police Officers J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao. Derek Chauvin, who has already been convicted of state murder and manslaughter charges in the death of George Floyd, appears to be on the verge of pleading guilty to violating Floyd's civil rights. Chauvin, Lane, Kueng and Thao were set to go to trial in late January 2022 on those federal charges. (Hennepin County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
George Floyd Officers Civil Rights Chauvin
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former Minneapolis police Officer Thomas Lane is hoping for a sentence that could let him go free after as little as two years for his role in the killing of George Floyd. His attorney has argued the rookie was the least culpable of the four officers involved in the Black man’s death under Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee in 2020. Lane, who is white, was one of three ex-officers convicted by a federal jury in February of violating Floyd’s civil rights. Prosecutors have asked Judge Paul Magnuson to sentence Lane on Thursday to 5 1/4 to 6 1/2 years. But Lane has asked for 2 1/4 years. Assuming good behavior, that would result in two years in prison.
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