Thomas Lane, a former Minneapolis cop, pleaded guilty to a manslaughter-related charge on Wednesday in connection with George Floyd’s murder.
Per a report from the Associated Press, Lane has pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. The conditions of Lane’s plea agreement will also result in the dismissal of an aiding and abetting second-degree unintentional murder charge. Lane and other officers involved in Floyd’s death were previously convicted at the federal level. Wednesday’s guilty plea was for a state charge.
Addressing Lane’s plea, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said he was “pleased” the former Minneapolis Police Department officer had “accepted responsibility” for his part in Floyd’s death.
“My thoughts are once again with the victims, George Floyd and his family,” he said. “Floyd should still be with us.”
Lane’s plea deal, as detailed in a regional report from KARE 11, is expected to see the ex-cop serving three years in a federal facility. The three years will be served concurrently with a federal sentence, the length of which remains to be determined.
Last June, Derek Chauvin—the officer who held his knee to Floyd’s neck for nine minutes during the fatal 2020 arrest—was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison after being convicted of murder and manslaughter charges. All four officers involved in Floyd’s death—i.e. Chauvin, Lane, J. Alexander Kueng, and Tou Thao—were also indicted on federal civil rights charges. Chauvin was ultimately reported to have entered into a plea agreement in that case, while the remaining three officers were convicted earlier this year.
