What we know about the four ex-police officers charged in George Floyd's death

(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.

The four officers were fired and are now facing charges in Floyd's death.

Here's what we know about their role in Floyd's arrest as well as their lives before and while they were on the force, based on their personnel files.

Derek Chauvin

What he did: Derek Chauvin, 44, pressed his knee into George Floyd's neck while Floyd was lying on the street.

The charges: Chauvin was charged on Wednesday with a new, more serious count of second-degree murder. He had previously been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The second-degree murder charge says he killed Floyd "without intent" in the course of committing assault in the third degree, according to an amended complaint.

Chauvin was arrested last week and is being held at a Minnesota Department of Corrections facility in Oak Park. His bail was increased to $1 million Wednesday, court documents show.

Background: Chauvin was a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department for nearly 19 years.

He was the subject of at least 18 prior complaints and only two were "closed with discipline," according to a department internal affairs public summary.

The heavily redacted personnel files released by police only detail a 2007 complaint from a woman alleging that Chauvin had pulled her from her car, searched her and placed her in the back of a squad car for going 10 miles an hour over the speed limit.

An investigator found that Chauvin "did not have to remove complainant from car" and that he could have interviewed her outside the vehicle. The report noted that there was no audio of the incident and the dash came in Chauvin's car was turned off.

Chauvin admitted that he did not check to see if the dash cam in his cruiser at the start of his shift and left a microphone in the squad car during the traffic stop, the report says. He received a letter of reprimand and a notice of suspension for the incident, the documents show.

His files also include recommendations that he be given the department's medal of valor for his actions in two incidents. One involved shooting a man who pointed a shotgun at officers and another involved shooting a man suspected of a violent domestic assault, according to the personnel file.

When Chauvin applied for a job with the police department, he said he served in the US Army as a member of the military police and had worked as a custom protection officer for security services company. The files note Chauvin worked for McDonald's and another restaurant in the mid-1990's.

Chauvin was initially hired as a community service officer in January 2001 and served for about eight months before he was promoted to police officer, the personnel files show.

J. Alexander Kueng

What he did: J. Alexander Kueng, 26, helped restrain George Floyd along with Derek Chauvin and Thomas Lane.

The charges: Kueng was charged Wednesday with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

He was arrested Wednesday and is being held on $1 million bail, county jail records show.

His background: Kueng was hired as a police officer with the Minneapolis Police Department in December. 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 charges: Lane was charged Wednesday with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Lane was arrested Wednesday and is being held on $1 million bail, county jail records show.

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 charges: Thao was charged Wednesday with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

Thao, along with Kueng and Lane, was taken into custody Wednesday and is being held on $1 million bail, county jail records show.

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 McDonalds. 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.

Source: CNN,  Harmeet Kaur and Nicole Chavez, June 5, 2020

Bail set at up to $1 million for three ex-Minneapolis police officers charged with abetting alleged murder of George Floyd

Three now-former Minneapolis police officers had bail set at up to $1 million at their arraignment Thursday on charges of aiding and abetting a fourth cop in the alleged murder of George Floyd, a black man whose Memorial Day death while in their custody has led to more than a week of protests nationwide over police brutality.

But with certain conditions, the three men could be released on bail of $750,000 apiece, Judge Paul Scoggin said, before ordering them to next appear in court on June 29.

“I’m hard-pressed to come up with any comparisons in this case,” Scoggin said, as he agreed with the recommendation by Minnesota Assistant Attorney General Matthew Frank that unconditional bail of $1 million apiece, and $750,000 bail apiece with conditions, was warranted.

Those bail conditions include not working in any law enforcement capacity, surrendering any firearms, voiding their firearm permits, having no contact with Floyd’s family and agreeing to waive extradition should they leave the state of Minnesota.

The hearing in Hennepin County District Court came a day after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison charged the men:, J. Alexander Kueng, 26, Thomas Lane, 37, and 34-year-old Tou Thao, with aiding and abetting both second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The trio had assisted another Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, in arresting the 46-year-old Floyd on May 25 on suspicion of making a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. 

Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes, during which Floyd said repeatedly, “I can’t breathe.”

None of the three entered pleas to the charges after they were brought into Scoggin’s courtroom to sit behind frosted glass facing the judge, out of view of others present in the room.

Frank argued for the high bail amounts by citing widespread public knowledge of the case, and the risk that the defendants would flee to avoid the charges, which could result in long prison sentences if they are convicted. The murder-related charge carries a 40-year maximum sentence.

Lawyers for each of the men had asked for much-lower bail amounts.

At the same time as the hearing, a memorial for Floyd, one of several planned, was being held in downtown Minneapolis.

Chauvin, 44, is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The top murder charge carries a maximum possible prison sentence of 40 year if he is convicted of it.

Ellison added the second-degree murder charge against Chauvin on Wednesday, when he lodged the first charges of any kind against the three other men. Chauvin remains in custody.

All four officers were fired a day after Floyd died, when graphic video of his arrest went viral.

Thomas Plunkett, a defense attorney for Kueng, in arguing for bail as low as $50,000, offered condolences to Floyd’s family at the arraignment hearing.

Plunkett said that Kueng had not even completed his third shift as a full-fledged officer at the time of Floyd’s arrest.

The lawyers also said that Kueng told his fellow cops, “You shouldn’t do this” during the incident.

Lane’s lawyer, Earl Gray, also asked for bail as low as $50,000, noting that right after the incident, he gave a statement to investigators.

Lane asked Chauvin during the arrest twice “shall we roll him over?” in reference to Floyd.

Gray, noting that Chauvin was a training officer, asked the judge: “What is my client supposed to do other than follow what the training officer said?”

Police records indicate that while the men were rookies, they had more experience than a handful of days on the force, the Associated Press reported. According to their records, they joined the department in February 2019 and became full officers in December. Minneapolis officers must serve a year on probation and spend time in field training with a more senior officer before they are fully qualified.

The lawyer also said that Lane had got into an ambulance with Floyd and performed CPR in an effort to revive him.

“Is CPR probable cause for aiding and abetting a felony?” Gray asked.

Ellison, in announcing the charges Wednesday, had said, “We are here today because George Floyd is not here.”

“George Floyd mattered. He was loved. His family was important. His life had value,” Ellison said. “And we will seek justice for him and for you,” Ellison said. He noted that winning the cases “will not be an easy thing. Winning a conviction will be hard.”

U.S. Attorney General William Barr at a news conference Thursday noted that the U.S. Justice Department and FBI are “conducting a parallel and independent investigation into possible violations of federal civil rights laws.”

Barr said that President Donald Trump “has directed me to spare no effort” in that probe.

He also said that “the video of the police conduct in this video, as I said before, is harrowing.”

“When you watch it and imagine that one of your own loved ones was being treated this way and begging for their lives, it is impossible for any normal human being not to be struck to the heart with horror,” Barr said.

Barr called Thursday “a day of mourning” for Floyd.

“And the day is coming soon, I am confident, when justice will be served,” he added.

“George Floyd’s death was not the first of its kind, and it exposes concerns that reach far beyond this particular case. While the vast majority of police officers do their job bravely and righteously, it is undeniable that many African Americans lack confidence in our American criminal justice system. This must change.”

Source: cnbc.com, Dan Mangan, June 4, 2020

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde